' I  -'-'t- 


"^ 


.A^#^ 


PRINCETON,  N.  J. 


*** 


Si 


Presented    by  \   T<5y^\d\iS^x^h    \^0\Wo'<^^ 


BV    4832    .M37    1890 

Matheson,  George,  1842-1906. 

Voices  of  the  Spirit 


Voices  of  the  Spirit. 


BV 

GEORGE  MATHESON,  M.A.,  D.D. 

MINISTER   OF   THE   PARISH    OF   ST.    Bf:RNARu's, 
EDINUU'RGH  ; 

AUTHOB   OF    "moments  ON  THE  MOUNT,"    "  MY   ASPIRATIONS,"  BTC 


NEW    YORK : 

A.   C.   ARMSTRONG  &  SON. 

iSyo. 


PREFACE. 


^f^-'  HIS  book  IS  offered  to  the  relieious  public 
%ii  JM,  ss  an  attempt  to  aid  the  moments  of 
devotional  hfe.  I  do  not  believe  how- 
ever that  moments  of  devotion  are  moments  of 
mental  vacancy  ;  the  wings  on  which  the  spirit 
soars  must  always  be  wings  of  thought.  There- 
fore in  every  one  of  these  meditations  I  have 
tried  to  express  a  distinct  idea.  I  have  en- 
deavoured to  exhibit  in  their  fulness  and  in  their 
variety  the  different  phases  of  the  spiritual  life 
and  the  different  emotions  which  are  awakened 
by  them.  1  have  not  sought  out  these  phases  ;  I 
have  allowed  them  to  find  me.  I  have  come  to 
the  task  with  no  previous  system  in  my  mind  ;  I 
have  just  walked  beside  the  stream  and  taken 
my  impressions  from  its  windings.  The  stream 
b}'  which  I  have  walked  is  the  Bible.  I  have 
followed  in  the  order  of  our  books  from  Genesis 


vi  PREFACE. 

to  Revelation  the  track  of  those  inutlences  wliich 
are  attributed  to  the  Divine  Spirit,  and  have 
ei  deavoured  to  photograph  them  in  the  Hght  of 
devotio  \.  If  as  the  result  of  the  whole  the 
Christian  life  has  been  revealed  in  a  nuikiplicitv 
of  aspects  which  has  constituted  an  appeal  tc 
many  and  varied  minds,  the  effect  must  be 
credited  to  the  photograph  and  not  to  the  photo- 
grapher ;  I  have  only  recorded  what  1  have 
found.  If  but  one  of  those  many  and  varied 
minds  to  whom  this  book  would  seek  to  appeal 
shall  find  in  its  pages  some  moment  of  help  or 
strength  or  joy,  I  shall  not  think  it  has  been 
written  wholly  in  vain. 

GEORGE  MATHESON. 
St    Bernard's,  Edindurgh, 


CONTENTS. 


I. 

THE 

II. 

THK 

III. 

THE 

IV. 

THE 

V. 

THE 

VI. 

THE 

VII. 

THE 

VIII. 

THE 

IX. 

THE 

X. 

THE 

XI. 

THE 

XII. 

THE 

XIII. 

THE 

XIV. 

THE 

XV. 

THE 

XVI, 

THE 

XVII. 

THE 

XVIII, 

THE 

XIX. 

THE 

XX. 

THE 

XXI. 

THE 

XXII. 

THE 

PRECEDENCE   OF  THE   SPIRIT         . 
HOPE   OF   THE   SPIRIT    .  .  . 

PRACTICALNESS    OF   THE   SPIRIT    . 
CONDESCENSION    OF    THE   SPIRIT 
MEDIUM    OF   THE   SPIRIT 
SECRET   OF   THE    SPIRIT'S    REVELATION 
SECULAR    INFLUENCES    OF   THE   SPIRIT 
ANGER   OF   THE   SPIRIT 
DANGERS   OF  THE   SPIRIT      ,  , 

COURAGE    OF   THE    SPIRIT       .  , 

BEAUTY   OF   THE   SPIRIT  .  . 

PROSPERITY   OF   THE   SPIRIT  , 

SUSTENANCE    OF   THE   SPIRIT  . 

CHASTISEMENT    OF   THE   SPIRIT     . 
GOSPEL   OF   THE   SPIRIT    IN    NATURE 
HEREDITY    OF   THE   SPIRIT    . 
WORLDLY   NECESSITY   OF  THE   SPIRIT 
LUXURIES    OF   THE   SPIRIT     . 
SPIRIT    IN    THE   ANIMAL    WORLD. 
PERVADINGNESS    OF    THE   SPIRIT 
GOODNESS   OF   THE   SPIRIT     . 
ILLUMINATION   OF  THE   SPIRIT     . 


I 

3 

5 

8 

II 

14 

17 

20 
22 

24 
27 

30 
33 
36 
39 
42 

45 
47 
50 
52 
54 
56 


CONTENTS. 


XXIII.  THE    I'EACE    OF   THE   SPIRIT       . 

XXIV.  THE  spirit's  strength  to  a  nation  . 

XXV.    THE   spirit's    MODE   OF   REGENERATION  . 
XXVI.    THE    HEROISM    OF   THE   SPIRIT 
XXVII.    THE   QUALIFICATION    FOR   THE   SPIRIT     . 
XXVIII.    THE    POWER    OF   THE   SPIRIT      .  .  . 

XXIX.    THE    MISSION    OF   THE   SPIRIT.  ,  . 

XXX.    THE   SPIRIT   SEEKING   THE   VALLEYS  , 

XXXI.    THE    ELEVATION    OF   THE   SPIRIT       .  . 

XXXIL    THE    RETROSPECT   OF   THE   SPIRIT     .  . 

XXXIIL    THE   COMPULSION    OF   THE    SPIRIT    .  , 

XXXIV.    THE   LONELINESS   OF   THE   SPIRIT      . 
XXXV.    THE   SPIRIT  :   THE    FASHION  OF  THE    NEW  AGE 
XXXVI.    THE  VICTORY   OF  THE   SPIRIT. 
XXXVn.    THE    SPIRIT   AS    IN    CHRIST 
XXXVIII.    THE    EXPULSIVE    POWER   OF   THE   SPIRIT 
XXXIX.    THE   spirit's   PLACE   IN    MISSIONARY   PREACH 

ING 

XL.    THE   PURPOSE   OF  THE   SPIRIT'S   ULESSING 
XLI.    THE   COMFORT   OF   THE    SPIRIT 
XLII.    THE   FIRE  OF   THE   SPIRIT 
XLIIL    THE   SPIRIT    IN    GALILEE  .... 
XLIV,    THE    PRAYER    FOR   THE   SPIRIT  . 

XLV.    THE     UNMEASUREDNESS     OF     THE     SPIRIT     IN 

CHRIST 

XLVI.    THE   spirit's   GLORIFICATION    OF   CHRIST 
XLVII.    THE   spirit's    GLORIFICATION   OF   THE   PAST 
XLVIIL    THE    ROAD   TO   THE   SPIRIT'S   PEACE 
XLIX.    THE    PENTECOST   OF   THE   SPIRIT       . 
L.    THE    SPIRIT  :   THE   PRODUCT   OF  JOY 
LI.    LYING  TO  THE   SPIRIT       . 
"iU.    THE   spirit's   WITNESS   TO   OLIVET  . 


59 
62 
64 
66 
69 
71 
73 
76 

78 
80 
82 
84 
86 
89 
91 
93 

95 
97 
99 

lOI 

103 
105 

107 
no 
112 

"S 
117 
119 
121 
123 


co:-;TE:-iTS. 


LIII.    THE   VISION    OF   THE   SPIRIT      .  ,  . 

1,1V.    THE   spirit's    USE    FOR   WEALTH        .  . 

LV.    THE   SEPARATIONS   OF   THE   SPIRIT  , 

LVI.    THE   PROHIUITIONS   OF   THE   SPIRIT 
LVII.    THE    UNCONSCIOUS   WORKING   OF   THE    SPIRIT 
LVIII.    THE    FETTERS    OF   THE   SPIRIT  .  , 

LIX.    THE    MASTERSHIP    OF   THE   SPIRIT    . 

LX.    Till',    spirit's    EXPULSION    OF    FALSE   SHAME 
LXI.    THE   LIKERTY   OF   THE   SPIRIT  , 

LNII.    THE   SPIRIT   AS   A    HARPjTNGER  , 

IXIII.    THE   ABSTINENCE   OF   THE   SPIRIT    . 
LXIV.    THE   SPIRIT    SEEKING   THE   BODY      ,  « 

LXV.    THE    INTERCESSION    OF   THE    SPIRIT  . 

LXVI.    THE   CHARITY   OF   THE    SPIRIT  .  , 

LXVII.    THE    spirit's   SOLUTION    OF    MYSTERIES  . 
LXVIII.    THE    MODE   OF   DISCERNING   THE   SPIRIT 
LXIX.    THE   spirit's    RECOGNITION    OF   CHRIST  . 
LXX.    THE   CONTINUITY   OF   THE   SPIRIT    . 
LXXI,    THE   spirit's    GIFT    OF    COUNSEL 
LXXII.    THE   spirit's   GIFT   OF    HEALING        . 
LXXIII.    THE    EARNEST    OF   THE   SPIRIT  .  . 

LXXIV.    THE  spirit's   ABOLITION   OF  THE   LAW  . 
LXXV.    THE   spirit's    ABOLITION     OF    THE    SENSE    OF 

MERIT 

LXXVI.    THE   PATIENCE   OF  THE   SPIRIT  .  . 

LXXVII,    THE    MOTIVE    OF   THE   SPIRIT    .  .  , 

LXXVIII.    THE   FRUITS   OF  THE  SPIRIT     . 

LXXIX.    THE    FIRST    MESSAGE   OF   THE   SPIRIT 
LSXX,    THE    UNITY    OF   THE   SPIRIT       .  .  , 

1  XXXI.    THE    SEAT   OF   THE   SPIRIT  .  .  * 

IXXXII.    THE    GRIEF   OF   THE   SPIRIT       .  .  • 

I.XXXIII.    THE    SUPPLICATIONS   OF   THE   SPIRIT 


crtT'rSNTS. 


LXXXIV. 

THE 

I.XXXV. 

THE 

LXXXVI. 

THE 

LXXXVII. 

THE 

LXXXVIII. 

THE 

LXXXIX. 

THE 

XC. 

THE 

XCI. 

THE 

XCII. 

THE 

XCIII. 

THE 

XCIV. 

THE 

xcv. 

THE 

FELLOWSHIP    OF   THE    SPIRIT  .  .  207 

L    VE   OF   THE   SPIRIT       ....  2IO 

':UENCHING    OF   THE    SPIRIT   .  .  .  2I3 

SACRIFICE    OF   THE   SPIRIT        .  .  .  2I5 

PEN-VLTIKS    OF   THE   SPIRIT      .  .  .  2l8 

SANCTIFICATION    OF    THE    SPIRIT     .  .  221 

TEST    OF   THE   SPIRIT'S    ABiniNGNESS       .  224 

TEST   OF   'I'HE   SPIRIT'S    GENUINENESS     .  227 

TEST    OF   THE   SPIRIT'S   ABSENCE      .  .  230 

SPIRIT   IN    PATMOS 233 

NATURE   OF   THE   SPIRIT'S    REST      .  .  236 

RAPTURE    OF   THE   SPIRIT         .  .  ,  239 


Zhc  precedence  of  tbe  Spirit* 

"  The  Spirit  of  God  moved  upon  the  face  of  the  waters." 

—Gen.  i.  2. 

I'^gEFORE  God  said  "Let  there  be  light," 
I  ^u|  He  said  "  Let  there  be  Spirit."  It  was 
*^^"^^*  the  key-note  of  all  His  voices  to  the 
human  soul.  It  is  no  use  to  bring  the  light 
until  you  have  brought  the  Spirit.  Light  will 
not  make  the  waters  of  life  glad  unless  the  spirit 
of  joy  has  already  moved  them.  Light  is  only 
outward  and  the  joy  of  the  soul  has  its  seat 
within.  It  is  in  vain  you  promise  me  the  herb 
of  the  field  and  the  bird  of  the  air  and  the  fish 
of  the  sea.  It  is  in  vain  even  that  you  bring 
me  into  contact  with  my  fellow-men  made  in  the 
image  of  God.  If  the  Spirit  has  not  moved  on 
the  face  of  the  waters  there  can  be  no  gladness 
in  jny  face.  That  whicfi  makes  me  glad  is  not 
what  I  get  but  what  I  am,  and  what  I  am  depends 
on  the  Spirit.  Therefore  it  was  well  that  the 
Spirit  should  come  before  all  His  gifts — before 
the  light,  before  the  firmament,  before  the  herb 

A 


2  THE  PRECEDENCE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

of  the  field.  It  was  well  that  the  joy  in  the 
licart  should  precede  the  joy  in  the  universe. 
It  was  well  that  ere  the  light  could  rise,  the 
Spirit  should  move  on  the  face  of  the  waters. 

O  Thou  Divine  Spirit  whose  breath  preceded 
all  things,  I  am  seeking  to  invert  the  order  of 
Thy  work.  I  am  asking  for  other  things  before 
Thee.  I  am  crying  for  light,  for  sun  and  moon 
and  star,  for  the  green  herb,  for  the  bird  of 
heaven.  I  am  forgetting  that  without  Thee  the 
light  would  not  charm,  the  grass  would  not 
grow,  the  bird  would  not  sing.  Come  Thyself 
fu-st  of  all  and  move  upon  the  face  of  the  waters. 
Come  and  give  to  the  light  its  charm,  to  the 
herb  its  greenness,  to  the  bird  its  song.  Come 
and  let  me  see  the  image  of  God  in  my  brother- 
man,  that  I  may  learn  to  love  him  as  my  other 
self  and  in  the  joy  of  love  may  find  universal 
joy.  Without  Thee  the  days  of  my  creation 
are  evenings  without  mornings ;  the  nightless 
Sabbath  shall  have  dawned  when  Thou  shalt 
move  upon  the  waters. 


II. 
Zbc  1l3ope  of  the  Spirit. 

"My  Spirit  shall  not  always  strive  with  man." — Gen.  vi.  3. 

■C^^O,  not  always ;  there  shall  be  peace  at 
li(>!  xH'l  the  last.  It  is  not  possible  that  there 
.-s>\e>*i4  Q^Yi  be  two  eternal  powers  ;  one  must 
conquer  and  be  all  in  all.  Shall  it  be  the  flesh 
or  shall  it  be  the  Spirit  ?  The  deluge  shall 
answer  that  question.  All  flesh  shall  be  de- 
stroyed ;  all  carnality  shall  be  drowned ;  all 
worldly  lust  shall  be  buried  in  the  waves  and 
love  shall  reigii  supreme.  O  glorious  prophecy, 
thou  redeemest  the  darkness  of  the  flood.  Thou 
art  already  the  dove  upon  the  waters,  but  thou 
tellest  of  a  higher  rest  than  that  of  Ararat. 
Thou  tellest  of  a  time  when  there  shall  be  no 
more  sea,  no  more  passion,  no  more  sin.  Thou 
tellest  of  summers  without  storm,  of  mornings 
without  cloud,  of  moments  without  fear.  Thou 
art  better  than  the  rainbow  set  for  a  covenant 
amid  the  waters.  Thai  only  promised  a  freedom 
from  future  punishment ;  thine  is  the  pledge  of 
a  freedom  from  future  sin.     Thy  pledge  shall  be 


THE  HOPE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


redeemed  when  the  vUion  of  Patmos  shall  be 
fulfilled :  "  The  kingdoms  of  this  world  have 
become  the  kingdoms  of  our  Lord  and  of  His 
Christ." 

Spirit  Divine,  why  is  it  that  I  am  at  war  with 
Thee  ?  Nothing  else  is  at  war  with  Thee.  We 
speak  of  the  lazvs  of  nature  and  we  do  well.  All 
nature  is  Thy  law  and  keeps  Thy  law  ;  this  heart 
of  mine  has  alone  refused  to  say  "  Thy  will  be 
done."  I  am  myself  the  miracle  of  the  universe, 
the  violation  of  the  order  of  nature.  I  am  the 
only  thing  in  creation  which  strives  with  Thee, 
which  needs  to  be  reconciled  to  Thee.  They  say 
that  to  believe  in  Thee  is  to  believe  in  th.'it  which 
contradicts  reason  ;  no,  it  is  to  find  something 
which  destroys  the  contradiction.  I  am  now 
the  contradiction  to  reason,  the  miracle  in  nature, 
the  one  exception  to  the  reign  of  universal  law. 
Spirit  of  Christ,  Spirit  of  the  heavenly  Father, 
conquer  my  will,  that  the  miracle  may  be  de- 
stro3'ed.  Reconcile  my  heart  to  Thy  heart,  that 
there  ma}'  be  no  more  violation  of  law.  Unite 
my  purpose  to  Thy  purpose,  that  I  may  be  in 
harmony  with  all  things  and  that  all  things  may 
work  together  for  my  good.  Let  me  know  for 
the  first  time  the  joy  of  being  no  anomaly  in  the 
universe  of  li^e,  no  interruption  in  the  order  of 
nature.  All  things  shall  be  subject  unto  Thee 
when  1  have  ceased  to  strive. 


III. 
Zbc  pxacticalnc53  of  tbe  Spirit 

"And  Pharaoh  said  unto  his  servants,  Can  we  find  such  a  one  as 
this  is,  a  man  in  whom  the  Spirit  of  God  is  ?  " — Gen.  xU.  38. 

^NE  would  have  thought  the  fact  would 
have  been  a  disqualification  in  the  eyes 
of  Pharaoh.  Pharaoh  was  a  worldling; 
how  could  he  respect  that  which  was  unworldly  ? 
All  his  motives  were  guided  by  the  interests  of 
the  hour ,  how  could  he  welcome  a  man  who 
belonged  to  the  immensities  and  eternities?  It 
is  because  eternity  includes  the  present  hour, 
and  He  who  has  the  spirit  of  eternity  has  also 
the  spirit  of  the  time.  Think  you  that  an  atheist 
master  would  consent  to  have  an  atheist  servant? 
Nay,  he  would  know  that  the  temporal  work 
would  not  be  well  done.  He  who  would  do 
well  the  temporal  work  must  be  beyond  the  time. 
No  man  can  steer  his  way  through  the  ocean  of 
life  whose  e3'e  is  not  on  the  stars.  Wouldst 
thou  be  fit  for  thy  service  ?  then  must  thou  be 
higher  than  thy  service.  Life  would  be  too 
much  for  thee  if  thou  didst  not  see  ahead  of  it ; 


6  THE  PRACTICALNESS  CI"  THE  SPIRIT. 

thou  art  saved  by  hope.  Thou  canst  not  be  a 
man  of  the  world  without  a  balanced  mind,  and 
a  balanced  m.ind  is  a  mind  at  peace.  God's 
peace  is  not  something  to  die  with  ;  it  is  some- 
thing to  live  by.  With.out  it  thou  art  but  half 
a  man — unfit  for  Egypt,  unfit  for  Pharaoh,  unfit 
for  the  coming  famine.  IVitli  it,  thou  art  more 
a  man  of  the  time  than  those  who  call  themselves 
abreast  of  the  age  ;  he  who  would  be  abreast  of 
the  age  must  already  have  outrun  it,  for  the 
world  that  now  is,  is  lighted  by  the  world  to 
come. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  fit  me  for  the  earth  on  which 
I  dwell.  I  used  to  ask  that  Thou  wouldst  prepare 
me  for  dcatli ;  Thy  main  province  is  to  prepare 
me  for  life.  I  used  to  pra}'  that  Thou  wouldst 
make  me  ready  for  the  things  that  are  unseen 
and  eternal  ;  Thy  summer  is  the  ripeness  for  the 
things  that  are  seen  and  temporal.  J  am  growing 
more  impressed  with  the  solemnity  of  living  than 
of  dying.  I  am  growing  more  impressed  with 
the  need  of  Thee  in  things  common  than  in  things 
transcendental.  I  am  in  want  of  Thee  not  to 
help  me  out  of  the  world  but  to  help  me  /;/  the 
world.  I  need  Thee  both  for  the  seven  years 
of  plenty  and  for  the  seven  3'ears  of  famine. 
Without  Thee  I  cannot  bear  either  the  one  or 
the  other.  Be  Thou  my  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  ; 
be  Thou  my  pillar  of  fire  by  night.     Teach  me  my 


THE  PRACTICALNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  7 

nothingness  in  the  hour  of  my  prosperity  ;  tell 
me  in  my  adversity  that  I  am  something  to 
Thee.  Redeem  from  dust  ahke  my  evenings 
and  my  mornings  that  I  may  claim  as  Thy  gifts 
not  only  angels  and  principalities  but  the  world 
and  life  as  well.  The  day  of  common  work  shall 
be  the  Lord's  day,  when  I  can  say  like  the  man 
of  Patmos,  "  i  was  in  the  Spirit." 


IV. 

Zbc  Condescension  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"  I  have  tilled  hiin.wilh  the  Si>irit  of  God,  in  wisdom,  and  in  under- 
standing, and  in  knowledge,  and  in  all  manner  of  wuiknianship,  to 
devise  cunning  works,  to  work  in  gold,  and  in  silver,  and  in  brass." 

— EXOD.  xxxi.  3-4. 

|^f^|HAT  :  for  so  base  a  purpose  as  that? 
IvmI?  ^'^  ^'^  ^  m^n  with  the  Spirit  for  the 
'-^^'^■'^  sake  of  devising  cunning  works,  to  in- 
spire him  with  wisdom  and  with  understanthng 
and  with  ah  knowledge  for  no  other  end  than 
that  he  may  work  in  brass  and  iron — it  seems 
a  most  lame  and  impotent  conclusion.  I  could 
understand  a  man  being  inspired  to  teach,  I 
could  understand  him  being  inspired  to  prophesy, 
I  could  understand  him  being  inspired  to  live  a 
life  of  unworldliness  ;  but  to  fill  him  with  the 
Spirit  for  the  sake  of  life's  common  round,  to 
inspire  him  with  a  view  to  perform  duties  seem- 
ingly the  most  menial  and  the  most  undivine, 
is  not  this  a  degradation  of  the  fountain  of  living 
waters  ?  No ;  it  is  an  elevation.  The  glory 
of    every   spirit   is   its  power   to   manifest   itself 


THE  CONDESCENSION  OF  Tim  r,PIRIT. 


in  the  smallest  things.  When  is  the  poet  a 
perfect  poet?  It  is  when  he  can  weave  the 
spirit  of  beauty  into  everything,  get  sermons 
from  stones  and  books  from  the  running  brooks. 
Even  so  is  it  with  Thy  Spirit,  O  m.y  GckI.  Its 
triumph  is  its  lowest  sphere — its  shining  before 
men.  It  is  never  so  manifested  as  when  it 
appears  in  its  seeming  opposite.  The  heavenly 
treasure  never  proves  its  omnipotence  so  strongly 
as  when  it  lies  in  the  earthen  vessel ;  it  is  beauty 
revealed  in  deformity,  it  is  peace  subsisting  in 
storm,  it  is  strength  perfected  in  weakness,  it 
is  life  maniiested  in  death. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  Spirit  that  hast  incarnated 
Thyself  in  the  brass  and  iron  of  this  world,  I 
come  to  Thee.  Unto  whom  can  I  go  but  unto 
Thee  to  find  that  which  I  need  ?  That  which 
I  need  is  not  seclusion  from  the  world ;  if  it 
were,  the  spirit  of  the  Brahman  would  suffice. 
It  is  power  to  work  in  the  world,  strength  to 
serve  in  the  duties  of  the  common  day.  There- 
fore, Thou  Spirit  of  the  Incarnation,  inspire  me 
for  the  labours  of  the  flesh.  Quicken  me  for  the 
toils  of  dusty  lane  and  bustling  mart.  Nerve 
me  for  the  troubles  of  the  exchange,  the  counting- 
house,  and  the  workshop.  Fit  me  to  bear  the 
crosses  and  the  losses  that  await  the  dealings 
between  man  and  man.  Help  me  to  consecrate 
my  gains  to  the  service  of  love,  to  the  lifting  of 


10        THE  CONDESCENSION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

humanity,  to  the  setting  at  liberty  of  those  that 
are  bound.  So  shall  I  make  friends  of  the 
Mammon  of  unrighteousness,  so  shall  I  claim 
for  Thee  what  the  world  has  claimed  for  its 
own.  The  incarnation  of  Christ  shall  be  com- 
pleted when  Thou  hast  filled  the  brass,  the 
silver,  and  the  gold. 


V. 

Zbc  /IDcMuin  of  tbc  Spirit 

"The  IvOrd  came  down  in  a  cloud,  and  spake  unto  him,  and 
took  of  the  S]3iiit  that  was  upon  him,  and  gave  it  unto  the  seventy 
elders." — Numbers  xi.  25. 

^S^^OD  often  speaks  to  me  in  a  cloud — • 
*,l'ffH  reveals  Himself  through  that  which 
vJfc!!i«ic:  seems  an  absence  of  revelation.  The 
hour  of  sorrow  becomes  my  hour  of  communion, 
and  the  silence  of  earth  is  vocal  with  songs  of 
heaven.  But  the  great  advantage  of  my  cloud 
is  that  it  breaks  my  solitude.  It  seems  before- 
hand to  be  a  source  of  solitude.  It  threatens 
to  be  something  which  will  hide  me  from  the 
e3''es  of  my  brother  man  and  drive  me  within 
the  temple  of  my  own  soul.  In  reality  it  lias 
the  opposite  effect.  The  message  which  comes 
to  me  through  the  cloud,  comes  to  me  as  a 
message  for  humanity.  It  first  clothes  me  in 
the  spirit  of  peace,  and  then  it  takes  the  spirit 
it  has  put  upon  me,  and  puts  it  on  my  fellow- 


THE  MEDIUM  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


labourers.  It  enables  me  to  feel  that  I  have 
one  common  burden  with  those  who  work  by 
my  side.  It  tells  me  that  I  am  never  so  little 
alone,  never  so  near  to  the  mass  of  mankind,  as 
under  the  shadow  of  the  night.  We  do  not  all 
meet  under  the  sunbeam,  but  we  all  meet  under 
the  cloud.  The  cloud  is  the  true  conductor  of 
the  electric  spark  of  love.  It  carries  my  life  into 
your  life,  my  thought  into  your  thought,  my 
heart  into  your  heart.  It  finds  an  entrance 
through  the  walls  which  prosperity  has  reared 
between  man  and  man  and  unites  the  soul  of 
Da\  id  to  the  soul  of  Jonathan. 

Son  of  Man,  let  Thy  cross  be  my  medium  of 
human  brotherhood.  Under  the  shadow  of  Thy 
cloud  let  me  meet  face  to  face  with  the  soul  of 
my  fellow-man.  May  we  be  bound  together  in 
the  unity  of  Thy  Spirit — the  spirit  of  sacrifice, 
the  spirit  of  self-surrendering  love.  May  we  be 
united  by  the  fellowship  of  the  mystery — the 
mystery  of  suffering.  We  have  failed  to  be 
united  by  the  fellowship  of  prosperity,  the 
participation  in  a  common  joy.  Join  us  by 
Thy  cross,  O  Son  of  Man  ;  unite  us  by  Thy 
sacrifice  ;  connect  us  by  Thy  cloud.  Bring  our 
hearts  into  sympathy  by  the  contact  of  a  kindred 
experience,  by  the  touch  of  a  common  cross,  by 
the  pain  of  a  united  martyrdom.  Let  us  walk 
through  the  furnace  not  one  by  one  but  three  by 


THE  MEDIUM  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  13 

three  and  seeing  ever  the  form  of  a  fourth  in  the 
likeness  of  Thyself.  It  shall  be  worth  while  to 
have  met  Thee  in  the  cloud  if  the  spirit  which 
Thou  there  shalt  give  me  shall  be  the  spirit  of 
humanity. 


VI. 

Xlbe  Secret  ot  the  Spirit's  IRepelatlon, 

"And  it  came  to  pass,  that,  when  the  Spirit  rested  upon  them, 
they  prophesied." — NUMU.  xi.  25. 

vHEN  the  Spirit  rested  upon  them  they 
prophesied  ;  "  spiritual  rest  was  mental 
activity.  It  is  ever  so.  My  times  of 
revelation  are  not  my  times  of  mental  flutter. 
"  Be  still,  and  know  that  I  am  God,"  is  the  law 
of  spiritual  insight.  Why  did  the  Son  of  man 
see  heaven  opened  and  hear  its  voice  of  com- 
mendation ?  It  was  because  the  Spirit  was 
"abiding  upon  Him."  It  was  not  a  momentary 
flash,  it  was  not  a  sudden  ebulition,  it  was  not 
an  excited  rhapsody ;  it  was  the  conviction  of 
a  dove-like  calm.  There  are  a  hundred  things 
lying  at  my  feet  which  I  cannot  see  for  want  of 
calmness — want  of  the  dove-like  rest.  Why  ia 
Hagar  in  such  distress  in  the  desert  ?  There 
is  a  well  of  water  before  her  very  eyes  if  she 
would  only  look  at  it.      But  she  cannot  look  at 


THE  SECRET  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  REVELATION.   15 

it.  It  is  not  want  of  siglit  that  prevents  her 
I'rom  seeing  it ;  it  is  want  of  spiritual  rest.  If 
she  were  only  calm  she  would  get  a  revelation, 
a  revelation  that  has  been  waiting  for  her  a  long 
time,  written  on  the  desert  sands.  But  she  is 
not  calm.  Her  heart  is  on  fire,  her  nerves  are 
in  motion,  her  soul  is  ill  at  ease.  She  is  a 
stranger  to  spiriiuai  rest,  and  therefore  she  is 
a  stranger  to  the  actual  outward  comforts  that 
are  scattered  at  her  door.  When  the  Spirit 
has  rested  on  her  she  will  prophesy  her  own 
deliverance. 

Spirit  of  rest,  in  Thy  light  we  shall  see  light. 
In  the  absence  of  Thy  light  even  our  sunshine 
is  darkness.  Is  it  not  written  that  in  order  to 
give  a  knowledge  of  the  glorious  light  in  the 
face  of  Jesus  Christ,  Thou  hadst  to  shine  "in 
our  hearts?'^  If  even  the  face  of  Christ  could 
only  have  its  glory  seen  through  Thine  inward 
shining,  what  shall  we  say  of  the  face  of  the 
universe  ?  I  r,m  like  Elijah  under  the  shadows 
of  Floreb  ;  I  underrate  the  number  of  my  own 
sunbeams.  It  is  stihness  that  I  want  most  of 
all — power  to  stand  and  gaze  on  my  actual 
surroundings.  I  am  more  disturbed  by  the 
earthquake  than  either  by  the  thunder  or  by  the 
fire.  Speak  peace  to  my  soul,  that  I  may  awake 
to  the  melodies  that  float  around  me.  Speak 
peace  to  my  soul,  that  in  the  hour  of  its  rest  I 


i6  THE  SECRET  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  REVELATION. 

may  see  the  ladder  between  earth  and  heaven. 
I  shall  know  that  there  are  yet  seven  thousand 
who  have  not  bowed  the  knee  to  Baal  when 
Thou  hast  inspired  my  spirit  with  Thy  still 
small  voice. 


VII. 

XTbe  Secular  influences  ot  the  Spirit. 

"And  when  they  came  ihither  to  the  hill,  behold  a  company  of 
prophets  met  liim  (Saul)  ;  and  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  him, 
and  lie  prophesied  among  them." — i  SAM.  x.  lo. 

^^^IHEN  they  were  come  thither  to  the 
Sv/' VlS  hill,  a  company  of  prophet.s  met  him." 
■A^^s^Ji  There  were  tlven  two  influences  under 
which  the  Spirit  of  God  came  to  him- — the  in- 
fluence of  outward  nature,  and  the  influence  of 
human  brotherhood.  Might  not  the  Spirit  have 
dispensed  with  these  aids  ?  What  had  the  vici- 
nity of  the  hill,  what  had  the  company  of  the 
prophets  to  do  with  the  mighty  breath  of  God's 
Spirit  ?  Does  the  Spirit  need  the  help  of  such 
poor  allies  as  a  physical  scene  and  a  human  soul? 
No  ;  it  does  not  need  the  help,  but  it  takes  it. 
Ihe  Spirit  uses  many  aids  which  it  does  not  re- 
quire; it  loves  to  work  through  sacraments.  It 
consecrates  the  hill-top  and  makes  the  traveller 
a  worshipper  ;  it  consecrates  a  human  companion- 
ship and  makes  the  social  hour  an  hour  in  the 

B 


i8     THE  SECULAR  INFLUENCES  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

temple  of  God.  It  is  not  the  hill  top  that  sancti- 
fies, it  is  not  the  human  voice  that  transforms. 
The  scene  that  melts  you  to-day  was  perhaps 
unheeded  yesterday ;  the  words  that  struck 
home  at  night  were  perhaps  powerless  in  the 
morning,  God  chooses  His  own  sacraments, 
and  He  chooses  His  own  objects  to  make  sacra- 
mental. Only,  be  thou  ready,  be  thou  reverent, 
for,  the  hill  that  to-day  is  commonplace  may 
to-morrow  be  inspiring,  and  the  W'Ords  which 
the  morning  despised  may  at  evening  time  be 
thy  light. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  consecrate  the  scenes  amidst 
which  I  move.  Consecrate  the  lonely  hill-top 
where  my  soul  communes  with  nature ;  con- 
secrate the  crowded  thoroughfare  where  I  meet 
the  company  of  my  fellow-men.  Thou  art  not 
confined  to  temples  made  with  hands,  nor  art 
Thou  limited  to  the  sacrament  of  bread  and  wine. 
Reveal  to  me  the  holiness  of  common  things. 
Teach  me  the  sacredness  of  what  I  call  secular. 
Show  me  the  sacramental  glory  of  the  lily  of  the 
field.  Open  mine  eyes  to  the  divine  wonder  of 
that  universe  whose  miracles  I  have  forgotten. 
Tell  me  again  that  the  heavens  declare  Thy  glory, 
that  the  earth  is  full  of  Thy  goodness,  that  the 
tempest  itself  is  the  echo  of  Thy  voice.  Tell  me 
above  all  that  Thy  voice  speaks  to  me  through  the 
heart  of  my  brother  man,  that  Thou  sendest  now 


THE  SECULAR  INFLUENCES  OF  THE  SPHilT.     19 

Thy  messages  not  by  angels  but  by  human  souls. 
My  whole  life  shall  be  a  sacrament  when  Thuu 
slialt  meet  me  alike  in  the  company  and  on 
the  hill. 


VIII. 

Xlbe  Biujcr  of  tbe  Spirit 

"  And  the  Spirit  of  God  cunie  upon  Saul  when  lie  heard  those 
tidings,  find  his  anger  was  kindled  greatly.  " — i  Sam.  xi.  6, 

^^^^HAT  a  strange  effect  of  the  Spirit !  I 
WimM-  would  have  looked  for  anything  but 
^siM  j_j^^^j.  J  thought  the  Spirit  of  Christ 
meant  love  ;  here  I  am  told  that  its  mission  was 
to  create  anger.  Yes,  but  have  you  never  heard 
of  an  anger  which  is  compatible  with  love  ? 
Have  you  never  read  of  "  the  wrath  of  the 
Lamb "  ?  Think  you  that  the  Lamb  had  lost 
the  Divine  Spirit  when  He  burst  into  wrath  ? 
Nay,  it  was  the  presence  of  that  Spirit  that 
gave  Him  His  wrath.  There  is  an  anger  which 
is  human,  and  there  is  an  anger  which  is  Divine. 
Human  anger  resents  the  hurt;  Divine  anger 
resents  the  zvrong.  Human  anger  is  wounded 
in  its  pride;  Divine  anger  is  wounded  in  its 
heart.  Human  anger  laments  the  injury  to  self; 
Divine  anger  laments  the  injury  to  God.  Human 
anger  cries  out  for  revenge ;  Divine  anger  cries 
out  for  atonement. 


THE  ANGER  OE  THE  SPHUT.  jr 

Spirit  of  Christ,  who  hast  come  to  consecrate 
my  whole  human  nature,  consecrate  my  anger 
too.  Thou  art  not  come  to  destroy  but  to  fullil. 
Tliou  art  not  sent  to  mutilate  my  present  powers 
but  to  redeem  them  from  mutilation.  There  are 
times  in  which  I  do  well  to  be  angry,  but  I  have 
mistaken  these  times.  I  am  angry  at  the  gourd 
because  it  withers  ;  I  should  be  angry  with  the 
cause  of  its  withering.  I  am  eager  to  revenge 
an  individual  offence,  but  I  am  regardless  of  the 
principle  from  which  the  offence  springs.  Create 
within  mc  Thine  own  Divine  horror  of  that  which 
blights  the  gourd.  .  Inspire  me  with  that  "love 
of  love  "  which  implies  "  the  scorn  of  scorn  and 
the  hate  of  hate."  Rouse  me  into  that  groaning 
of  the  spirit  whose  tears  are  born  not  of  weak- 
ness but  of  holy  passion — the  passion  against 
malice  and  hatred  and  envy  and  all  uncharitable- 
ness.  Wake  me  into  sympathy  with  that  fiery 
zeal  which  burned  with  indignation  to  see  life's 
temple  desecrated.  The  passions  of  my  heart 
belong  now  to  the  Mammon  of  unrighteousness  ; 
transport  them  into  the  service  of  righteousness, 
and  they  shall  become  Thy  friends.  When  Thy 
fire  shall  baptize  my  soul  I  shall  know  what  it 
is  to  "  be  angry,  and  sin  not." 


IX. 

Zbc  2)anoer5  of  the  Spirit. 

"  Lest   pcradventure   the   Spirit  of  the    Lord   hath    taken   h'.m 
up,  and  cast  him  upon  some  mountain  or  into  some  valley." 

— 2  Kings  ii.  i6. 

||^gf  TRANGE  that  such  dangers  should  be 
S\i^^  attributed  to  the  possession  of  God's 
ml^^js^^  Spirit.  And  yet  the  dangers  are  true. 
The  man  who  has  got  the  Spirit  has  to  beware 
of  two  extremes — the  mountain  and  the  valle\'. 
He  may  be  lifted  up  to  such  a  height  of  ecstasy 
as  to  become  unpractical ;  he  may  be  cast  down 
into  such  a  depth  of  self-abasement  as  to  become 
morbid.  A  man  without  the  Spirit  is  in  neither 
of  these  dangers  ;  he  has  neither  the  sight  of  the 
divine  to  elevate  nor  the  contrast  of  the  human 
to  depress  ;  it  is  easy  for  hi'jit  to  keep  on  the 
plain.  But  the  man  of  the  Spirit  has  like  Paul 
both  his  third  heaven  and  his  thorn.  He  may 
be  exalted  above  mcrsure  or  he  may  be  sunk 
in  depths  that  are  fathomless  ;  he  may  forget 
the  actual  perils  of  the  way  or  he  may  cry  in 
the  bitterness  of  his  Sipul,  "  O  wretched  man 
that  I  am  !  " 


THE  DANGERS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  23 


Spirit  of  Christ,  let  Thy  chariot  of  fire  lift  nic 
above    both  the  valley  and   the    mountain.      In 
Thee  alone  shall   I   find  the  refuge  from   Thine 
own  dangers.      It  is  my  little  knowledge  of  Thee 
that  is  a  dangerous   thing.      If  my  fiight  were 
only  higher  I   would   be  in  no  fear  from  either 
the  mountain  or  the  valley.      Both  would  dwindle 
into  insignificance  before  the  contemplation  of  a 
heavenly  glory.      I  would  cease. to  think  of  my- 
self either  joyously   or  despondently  ;    I    would 
lose  myself  in  the  brightness  of  Thy  sunshine. 
I  would  be  independent  of  the  variations  of  my 
feeling  —  alike    of    my    exaltation    and    of    my 
despair ;   viewed  from  the  height  of  Thy  heaven 
my  mountain    of  pride   and   my   valley  of  tears 
would    look     equally    small.      Therefore,    Thou 
Spirit,    lift   me    from    the    partial    into    the    full 
knowledge    of  Thyself.      Lift   me    high    enough 
to  lose  sight  of  all  but  Thee.      Lift  me  so  near 
to  heaven   that    I    shall    forget   to    measure   the 
heights    and    depths    of    earth.      Raise    me    so 
rlose  into  communion  with  Thyself,  that   I  shall 
be  unable  any  longer  to  commune  with  ;;/rself, 
that  my  lights  and  my  shadows  alike  shall  pale 
before   Thy   splendour.      When    I    have  reached 
Thy  fulness   I   shall  reach   Thy  peace ;   when    I 
have  entered  Thy  chariot  of  fire  I  shall  steer  the 
middle  way  between  the  mountain  and  the  vale. 


Zbc  Couraoe  ot  tbe  Spirit 

"  Then  the  Spirit  came  upon  Amasa  ,  who  was  chief  of  the 
captains,  and  he  said,  Thine  are  we,  David,  and  on  thy  side,  thou 
soil  of  Jesse :  peace,  peace  be  unto  thee,  and  peace  be  to  thine 
helpers  ;  for  thy  God  helpeth  thee.  Then  David  received  them,  and 
made  them  captains  of  the  band." — i  Chron.  xii.  i8. 

^^^^  HERE  is  something  very  remarkable  here. 
3^1  !?;^[  The  Spirit  of  God  comes  upon  a  soldier 
'm^-^  in  the  moment  of  his  enlistment,  comes 
upon  him  that  he  may  be  helped  to  enlist.  Why 
not  !  The  only  thing  which  justifies  any  man 
in  being  brave  is  the  motive  of  the  Spirit.  The 
motive  of  the  Spirit  is  a  feeling  that  a  cause  is 
just.  There  is  a  courage  which  belongs  to  the 
beast  of  the  field — the  courage  of  recklessness 
which  knov/s  not  life's  value ;  that  is  not  the 
motive  of  the  Spirit.  But  there  is  another  cour- 
age which  is  consistent  with  the  love  of  life,  and 
therefore  consistent  with  fear ;  it  is  the  courage 
of  duty.     That  alone  is  the  garb  for  the  soldier ; 


THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SPHUT.  2|5 

that  alone  is  the  gift  of  the  Spirit.  It  is  no 
virtue  to  be  brave  if  you  are  weary  of  life  ;  it  is 
no  heroism  to  be  courageous  if  you  are  a  stranger 
to  human  ties.  But  if  you  deem  life  precious,  if 
you  hold  ties  dear,  then  it  costs  something  to 
be  brave — costs  what  only  the  Spirit  of  God  can 
pay  ;  nothing  but  the  sense  of  duty  can  make 
the  good  man  a  soldier. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  who  of  old  didst  make  men 
soldiers  for  the  times  of  war,  make  me  now  a 
soldier  for  the  times  of  peace.  The  days  of  war 
are  ended  and  the  days  of  peace  are  come,  but 
we  cannot  disband  our  soldiers  ;  our  citizens 
must  now  all  be  soldiers.  Give  me  for  the  city 
those  same  qualities  which  Thou  wert  wont  to 
give  for  the  camp ;  I  need  them  for  the  city 
more  than  for  the  camp.  Give  me  the  soldier's 
discipline,  the  soldier's  fortitude,  the  soldier's 
chivalry,  the  soldier's  sacrifice.  Nerve  me  for 
the  battle  of  peace,  more  hard  than  the  battle  of 
war.  Nerve  me  for  the  trials  of  the  market- 
place, more  arduous  tlian  the  marches  of  the  field. 
Nerve  me,  not  by  drugging  my  sensibilities,  but 
by  giving  me  a  new  sense  —  the  perfected  sense 
of  dut}^  Make  me  brave,  not  by  lessening  but 
by  intensifying  my  conviction  of  life's  glory. 
Make  me  strong,  not  with  the  strength  of  reck- 
lessness, but  with  that  strength  which  comes 
from  an  increased  burden  of  care.      Inspire  me 


26  THE  COURAGE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

with  Thy  sacrificial  love,  and  I  shall  be  a  stranger 
to  selfish  fear ;  1  shall  have  the  courage  to  dare 
all  things  when  I  am  made  a  captain  in  Thy 
band. 


XI. 


Z\jc  3Beaut^  ot  the  Spirit. 

"Tlie  pattern  of  all  that  he  had  by  the  Spirit,  of  the  courts  of  the 
house  of  the  Lord." — i  Chron.  xxviii.  12. 

fW^^HAT  !    could    the    Spirit    condescend    to 

%^mwI  ^'-'^^  ^  S^^^  ^^  *-'^'*^  '^  Could  it  stoop 
''^'^"'^'  so  low  as  to  inspire  a  man  with  the 
imagination  of  an  architect  ?  Why  not  ?  Is 
not  the  Spirit  of  God  the  spirit  of  beauty  ? 
Was  it  not  the  inspirer  of  beauty  before  it 
became  the  inspirer  of  goodness  ?  Did  not 
the  heavens  declare  its  glory  and  the  firmament 
show  forth  its  handiwork  ere  ever  it  had  breathed 
into  man  the  breath  of  its  Divine  life  ?  Why 
was  there  chaos  before  the  Spirit  moved  if 
beauty  be  not  a  gift  of  the  Spirit  ?  Why,  when 
the  Spirit  moved,  did  God  say,  "  Let  there  be 
light,"  if  the  vision  of  material  glory  be  alien  to 
the  life  divine  ?  Say  not  that  matter  is  vile,  say 
rot  that  beauty  is  sensuous,  say  not  that  the 
forms  of  earth  are  the  antithesis  of  the  kingdom 


2%  THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

of  God.  There  is  a  room  within  thy  heart 
which  God  has  dedicated  to  the  beautiful ;  thou 
callest  it  the  imagination.  Let  the  Spirit  furnish 
that  room.  Let  it  say  to  this  inner  chamber, 
"  Let  there  be  light,"  "  Let  there  be  a  firmament," 
let  there  be  herb  and  plant  and  tree.  Let  it 
hang  upon  the  walls  the  brightest  and  fairest 
forms  —  forms  too  bright  and  fair  ever  to  be 
seen  below.  So  shah  thou  know  that  thy 
imagination  had  its  birth  in  heaven,  that  the 
fountain  of  the  stream  of  beauty  has  its  home 
above. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  Spirit  of  the  "  altogether 
lovely,"  in  Thee  alone  is  realised  my  ideal  of  the 
beautiful.  There  are  patterns  hung  up  in  my 
heart  to  whicii  I  can  find  nothing  outside  that 
answers.  The  light  within  my  soul  is  a  light 
that  never  shone  on  sea  or  land.  All  attempts 
to  copy  it  are  vain.  There  are  spots  in  every 
sunbeam,  there  are  thorns  in  every  rose,  there 
are  crosses  in  every  life.  I  have  never  seen  the 
perfect  landscape,  I  have  never  beheld  the  cloud- 
less day.  I  have  never  looked  upon  the  fault- 
less human  soul.  Never  till  I  found  Thee.  But 
Thou  hast  answered  to  the  pattern  in  my  heart, 
Thou  hast  realised  the  ideal  in  my  spirit.  Thou 
art  the  spotless  sunbeam,  Thou  art  the  thornless 
rose.  Thou  art  the  cloudless  day.  Thou  art  the 
faultless  life.      My  imagination  cannot  transcend 


THE  BEAUTY  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  29 

Thee ;  though  I  shut  my  eyes  a  hundred  times, 
I  can  fancy  nothing  more  beautiful.  In  the 
vision  of  Thee  I  have  received  the  fulfilment 
of  my  dream  ;  Thou  hast  realised  my  pattern  for 
the  courts  of  the  house  of  the  Lord. 


XII. 

Zhc  lP>i*ospei1ti^  ot  the  Spiiit 

"And  the  Spirit  of  God  came  upon  Azarinh  the  son  of  Oded : 
and  he  went  out  to  meet  Asa,  and  said  unto  him,  Hear  ye  me,  Asa, 
and  all  Judah  and  Benjamin  ;  The  Lord  is  with  you,  while  ye  be 
with  Him."— 2  Ciiron.  xv.  1-2. 

'^WfP  THOUGHT  inspiration  was  the  rcvela- 
i^  1^^  tion  of  somethinsT  7iczv.  I  thousht  it 
^'*^"""**  should  tell  us  something  nobody  knew 
before.  Why  then  send  the  Spirit  to  a  man  to 
utter  such  a  truism  as  this,  "  The  Lord  is  with 
30U,  while  3'e  be  with  Him?"  It  is  because 
these  words  are  only  a  truism  to  him  who  has 
received  the  Spirit.  He  who  has  not  received 
the  Spirit  would  deem  them  the  wildest  paradox. 
He  would  look  at  the  men  of  God,  and  say, 
"  Where  is  to  them  the  promise  of  His  coming  ?  " 
He  would  say  to  the  Son  of  man,  "  Come  down 
from  the  O'oss  and  we  will  believe  in  Thee." 
He  would  ask  if  the  favour  of  God  was  con- 
sistent with  being  mocked,  and  scourged,  and 
crucified,  with  being  despised  and  rejected  of 
men,  with   having  not  where   to  lay  the  weary 


THE  PROSPERITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  31 

licad.  JJ^c  know  that  it  is  consistent,  but  why  ? 
l;ccause  we  have  the  fruits  of  the  Spnit.  We 
have  learned  by  Christian  experience  that  the 
valley  may  be  exalted,  that  the  crooked  rnay  be 
made  straight,  and  the  rough  places  plain.  We 
have  learned  by  Christian  experience  that  there 
is  a  peace  which  passeth  understanding,  which 
the  world  cannot  give  and  never  can  take  away. 
But  that  knowledge  is  itself  a  gift  of  the  Spirit. 
Is  it  not  written,  "The  secret  of  the  Lord  is 
with  them  that  fear  Him  "  ?  To  all  outside  it  is 
a  secret.  A  song  in  the  night,  a  stream  in  the 
desert,  a  light  in  the  valley,  a  rainbow  in  the 
flood — these  ai'e  not  the  truisms  of  the  natural 
mind.  Inspiration  alone  can  reveal  the  prosperity 
of  the  soul ;  the  Spirit  alone  can  tell  us  that  God 
is  with  us  while  we  are  with  Him. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  only  in  Thy  inspiration  can 
1  know  that  the  righteous  prosper.  Seen  in  the 
light  of  the  world,  those  that  are  with  Thee 
appear  to  have  the  worst  of  it.  But  the  light 
of  the  world  cannot  reveal  the  glories  of  Geth- 
semane.  It  can  disclose  the  sweatdrops  and 
the  tears  and  the  darkness.  It  can  reveal  the 
suppliant  pouring  forth  His  petition  with  the 
voice  of  strong  crying.  It  can  show  that  the 
prayer  is  seemingly  unanswered,  and  the  pass- 
ing of  the  cup  denied.  But  it  cannot  disclose 
the  peace  that  comes  zvi/h   the  cup.      It  cannot 


32  THE  PROSPERITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

detect  the  angel  of  strength  that  follows  the 
surrendered  will.  It  cannot  photograph  the  rod 
and  the  staff  that  even  in  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  enable  a  man  to  say,  "Thou  art  with 
me."  Create  Thyself  that  sublime  vision,  O 
Spirit  of  the  Cross.  Usher  me  into  the  joy  of  my 
Lord — the  joy  that  could  speak  of  its  fulness  at 
the  very  foot  of  Calvary.  Inspire  me  with  the 
peace  which  is  independent  of  circumstances, 
which  in  the  hour  of  death  can  sa}',  "Let  not 
your  heart  be  troubled."  Then  and  not  till  then 
shall  the  paradox  become  a  truism,  then  and  not 
till  then  shall  I  understand  the  promise,  "The 
Lord  is  with  you,  while  ye  be  with  Him." 


XIII. 

XTbe  Sustenance  ot  the  Spirit 

"Thou  gavest  also  Thy  good  Spirit  to  instruct  them,  and  with- 
heldest  not  Thy  manna  from  their  mouth,  and  gavest  them  water 
for  their  thirst."— Neh.  ix.  20. 

fe*^|OD  is  said  to  have  sustained  Israel  by 
!■  C^*^  the  Spirit  first  and  by  the  manna  after- 
^^^^^^  wards.  We  should  liave  looked  for  the 
reverse  order.  We  should  have  thought  that 
the  care  of  the  Heavenl}'  Father  would  have 
begun  by  strengthening  the  gn/es  and  then 
proceeded  to  strengthen  the  citadel.  But  the 
Heavenly  Father  knows  better  what  is  /;/  man. 
He  knows  that  no  amount  of  manna  will  per- 
manently quell  hunger  as  long  as  there  is  a 
hunger  of  the  spirit.  It  is  in  vain  to  provide 
a  couch  of  down  if  there  is  an  unrest  within  the 
/learf.  It  is  in  vain  to  supply  strains  of  music 
if  there  is  a  discord  in  the  soul.  It  is  in  vain 
to  spread  the  banquet  if  there  is  a  burden  on 
the  spirit.  But  if  the  heart  be  already  rested 
it  will  find  peace  everywhere,  if  the  soul  be 
already  tuned   it  will   find   music   everywnere,  if 

c 


34  THE  SUSTENANCE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

the  spirit  be  already  fed,  it  will  find  a  banquet 
everywhere.  Israel's  own  glory  was  not  her 
manna  but  her  mind ;  it  was  her  mind  that 
sustained  her  in  the  poverty  of  her  manna. 
Not  without  cause  does  the  prophet  thank  God 
for  this,  that  His  first  boon  to  Israel  was  the 
gift  of  the  good  Spirit. 

O  Thou  w^ho  hast  taught  us  to  seek  first  Thy 
kingdom  and  its  righteousness,  teach  me  to  say 
"  Thy  will  be  done  "  before  I  say  "  give  me  my 
daily  bread."  Teach  me  to  accept  Thy  will  as 
the  foundation  of  my  happiness,  and  other  things 
as  only  its  superstructure.  Teach  me  that  the 
mandate  that  says  to  my  soul  "  thy  sins  be 
forgiven  thee"  is  a  more  abiding  miracle  than 
the  mandate  which  sa3's  to  my  body  "arise  and 
walk."  I  am  often  disappointed  that  Thou 
promisest  so  much  more  to  the  spirit  than  to 
the  flesh.  I  am  more  afraid  of  the  hunger  of 
the  body  than  of  the  hunger  of  the  spirit,  more 
anxious  for  the  strength  of  the  outer  man  than 
for  the  health  of  the  heart.  Convince  me  that 
it  would  not  profit  a  man  to  gain  the  whole 
world  and  lose  his  own  soul.  Show  me  that  it 
is  only  the  possession  of  my  soul  that  makes 
the  possession  of  the  world  any  gain.  Impress 
me  with  the  truth  that  no  lliing  can  give  me  joy 
if  I  m3'self  am  not  already  joyful.  Inspire  me 
with  the  knowledare  that  the  issues  of  life  are 


THE  SUSTENANCE  OF  THE  SPH^IT.  35 

not  from  without  but  from  vvitliin.  Guide  mc 
into  the  discovery  that  the  pleasures  at  Thy  right 
hand  are  the  only  things  that  are  "  pleasures 
for  cvcniiore."  He  that  tasteth  the  earthly  manna 
shall  hunger  again,  but  he  that  has  received  Thy 
bread  of  life  shall  subsist  even  amidst  its  failure. 
In  Thy  new  creation  tliat  must  be  first  whicli  is 
spiritual,  afterward  that  which  is  natural.  Before 
Thou  sendest  the  mann.'^  give  me  Thy  good 
Spirit. 


XIV. 

Ubc  Cbastiseincut  of  tbe  Spirit, 

"Yet  many  years  didst  Thou  forbear  them,  and  testifiedst  agai   st 
them  by  Thy  Spirit." — Neii.  ix.  30. 

•^^^^S  there  not  something  strangely  incongru- 
^p  ^%  ous  here  ?  God's  Spirit  is  said  at  one 
***^^^  and  the  same  time  both  to  bear  with 
man  and  to  testily  against  him.  How  can  these 
two  attitudes  be  reconciled  ?  Can  the  Spirit 
bear  with  me  at  the  very  moment  when  it  is 
uttering  an  adverse  testimony  ?  Yes  it  can  ;  its 
adverse  testimony  may  be  itself  the  proof  of  its 
forbearance.  There  is  a  chastisement  which 
proves  that  I  am  carried  in  the  bosom  of  the 
Father ;  it  is  the  pain  of  conscience.  I  am 
often  distressed  by  the  adverse  testimony  of 
my  conscience ;  it  seems  to  say  that  I  have 
been  cast  out  from  the  presence  of  the  Lord. 
In  truth  what  it  says  is  the  contrary  ;  it  tells 
me  that  I  am  getting  nearer  to  the  //cari  of 
the  Father.  When  I  was  far  away  I  was  un- 
conscious of  my  distance,  but  now  as  I  draw 
near,  the  distance  seems  illimitable.      Before  the 


THE  CHASTISEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  37 

Spirit  came  I  had  perfect  peace — the  peace  of 
the  stagnant  lake,  the  peace  of  the  Dead  Sea. 
But  now  that  the -Spirit  has  come,  the  lake  has 
become  a  waving  ocean  and  the  Dead  Sea  is 
ruffled  with  storms.  It  is  the  increase  of  Hfe 
that  has  brought  the  waves  ;  it  is  the  breath  of 
the  Spirit  that  has  stirred  the  face  of  the  waters. 
It  is  the  dawn  of  day  that  has  revealed  my  dark- 
ness ;  it  is  the  sight  of  the  Delectable  Mountains 
that  makes  the  mountains  of  earth  seem  small  ; 
it  is  the  vision  of  the  Son  of  man  that  has  caused 
me  to  abhor  the  shadow  of  myself. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  teach  me  the  prophecy  of 
glory  that  lies  in  my  own  unrest.  Reveal  to 
me  the  promise  of  love  that  is  hid  in  the  rebuke 
of  a  heavenly  Father.  When  I  am  oppressed 
by  the  weight  of  conscience,  tell  me  that  the 
weight  which  oppresses  me  is  the  burden  of 
a  Father's  care.  When  I  am  appalled  by  the 
impurities  of  my  past  life,  tell  me  that  the  e^^e 
which  reads  the  impurity  has  received  its  light 
frcim  Thee.  When  I  am  overwhelmed  with  the 
conviction  that  I  am  growing  more  sinful  day  by 
day,  tell  me  that  the  breath  which  dims  the 
n;irror  is  Thy  breath — the  breath  that  makes 
ni}'  dust  a  living  soul.  When  I  stand  afar 
off  and  beat  upon  my  breast  and  say  "  Unclean, 
unclean,"  tell  mc  that  this  is  the  time  in  which 
I   go   down  to  my  house  justified.      Thou  never 


3S  THE  CHASTISEMENT  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

lovest  me  more  than  when  Thou  chidest,  Thou 
never  boldest  me  dearer  than  when  Thou 
chastisest.  Thou  hidest  the  heart  of  Calvary 
beneath  the  armour  of  Sinai  ;  when  Thou  testi- 
fiest  against  me  I  know  that  Thou  art  bearing 
with  me. 


XV. 

TTbe  (Bospel  of  tbe  Spirit  in  HAature. 

"By  His  Spirit  He  hath  garnibhed  the  heavens," — Job  xxvi.  13. 

^7^^^^  HE  heavens   are   garnished  by  the  Spirit 

W^^  \^M,  °^  ^^^  ^°^^  ^^  man — the  Spirit  of  the 
^^^^*^  Cross.  The  beauty  of  the  heavens  is  the 
beauty  of  sacrifice.  Nothing  shines  by  its  own 
light.  The  radiance  of  everything  is  a  borrowed 
radiance  ;  all  things  live  by  the  life  of  others. 
One  star  diftereth  from  another  star  in  glor^-, 
yet  the  one  cannot  say  to  the  other,  "  I  have  no 
need  of  thee."  The  universe  depends  on  each 
one  as  much  as  each  one  depends  on  the  universe. 
If  one  of  the  least  of  these  should  perish  there 
would  be  a  crash  of  all  worlds.  What  is  that 
law  which  I  call  gravitation  but  the  sign  of  the 
Son  of  man  in  heaven.  It  is  the  gospel  of  self- 
surrender  in  nature.  It  is  the  inability  of  any 
world  to  be  its  own  centre,  the  necessity  of  every 
W(jrld  to  centre  in  something  else.  The  eyes  of 
all   wait   upon    the   Father,   and    He   gives   thcni 


40      THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE  SPIRIT  IN  NATURE. 

their  meat  in  due  season,  but  He  takes  care  that 
it  is  not  the  interest  of  any  to  receive  its  bread 
alone.  The  Power  that  has  garnished  the 
heavens  is  the  Spirit  of  Him  whose  many 
members  constitute  one  body. 

O  Thou  that  tellest  the  number  of  the  stars, 
help  me  to  realise  that  Thou  callest  them  all  by 
Thy  name — the  name  that  is  above  every  name. 
Help  me  to  see  in  the  unity  of  the  starry  heavens 
a  picture  of  that  higher  unity  — our  membership 
in  Thee.  I  speak  of  the  heavens  declaring  Thy 
glory  ;  what  do  I  mean  b}'  that  ?  What  is  Thy 
glory  ?  Is  it  the  splendour  of  lights  and  the 
blending  of  colours  ?  Is  it  the  flashing  of 
comets  and  the  radiance  of  suns  ?  Is  it  the 
vastness  of  spaces  and  the  immeasurableness  of 
distances  ?  All  this  is  but  a  mechanician's  giory. 
Thou  art  a  Spirit,  and  Thy  glory  must  be  the 
glory  of  a  Spirit.  The  glory  of  a  Spirit  is 
sacrifice,  and  it  is  by  telling  of  sacrifice  that  the 
heavens  declare  Thy  glory.  When  I  look  up  at 
the  stars,  it  sometimes  seems  as  if  Thy  gospel 
were  a  contradiction  to  nature ;  I  say  "  What  is 
man  that  Thou  art  mindful  of  him  ?  "  Teach  me 
that  these  stars  are  themselves  the  promise  of 
Thy  mindfulness.  Teach  me  that  the  heavens 
themselves  declare  the  wonders  of  the  Cross. 
Inspire  me  with  the  thought  that  the  beauty 
which  I  see  in  nature  is  the  same   beauty  which 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  THE  SPIRIT  IN   NATURE.      41 

I  behold  in  Calvary.  Reveal  to  me  that,  ahke 
in  the  firmament  as  on  the  earth,  the  many  aic 
made  one  by  giving  the  one  for  the  many  ;  so 
shall  I  know  that  it  is  Thy  Spirit  that  has 
garnished  the  heavens. 


XVI. 

Ube  If^ercMti^  ot  the  Spirit 

"  The  Spirit  of  God  hath  made  me,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty 
hath  givan  nie  Hfe." — JOB  xxxiii.  4. 

^^^VERY  man  ought  to  be  proud  of  a  good 
^ij^^  ancestry — of  an  ancestry  whose  char- 
J-ar^ss*^  acteristic  was  goodness.  The  value 
lies  not  in  the  origin,  but  in  the  heredity.  The 
qualities  of  my  ar.ccitors  would  be  nothing  if 
they  did  not  tend  to  be  transmitted  ;  it  is  the 
present  and  not  the  past  that  gives  them  weight. 
Our  life  is  always  the  breath  of  the  spirit  which 
has  made  us  ;  the  traits  of  the  fathers  re-appear 
in  the  children.  On  one  side  we  have  all  a 
splendid  ancestry.  On  the  side  of  our  Mother 
Nature  we  have  much  to  bear;  we  are  children 
of  the  flesh,  and  the  flesh  is  weak.  But  we 
have  also  an  origin  from  our  Father,  and  our 
Father  is  a  Spirit..  We  have  an  ancestry  which 
goes  back  beyond  Nature,  beyond  maternity, 
beyond  the  flesh.  We  have  a  pedigree  which  is 
older  than  the  mountains,  older  than  the  stars, 
older  than  the  universe.      We  are  come  from  a 


THE  HEREniTY  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  43 

good  Stock  ;  we  are  branches  of  a  high  family 
tree  ;  we  are  scions  of  a  noble  house,  a  house 
not  made  with  hands,  eternal  in  the  heavens. 
Nature  is  the  parent  of  our  flesh,  but  the  Divine 
is  the  Father  of  our  spirits  ;  the  Spirit  of  God 
has  made  us,  and  the  breath  of  the  Almighty  has 
given  us  life. 

My  soul,  hast  thou  within  thyself  the  traces  of 
thy  heavenly  origin  ?  It  is  not  enough  that  thou 
canst  prove  it  from  a  register  book ;  there  is 
nothing  to  be  proud  of  in  any  ancestry  which  is 
not  in  thee.  It  is  not  enough  to  quote  a  text  of 
the  Bible  in  proof  of  thy  Divine  descent ;  if  thy 
lineage  be  of  any  value,  that  which  descends  to 
thee  must  be  not  a  text  but  a  quality.  Hast 
thou  within  thyself  the  qualities  of  thy  Father  ? 
Canst  thou  point  to  aught  in  thy  being  which 
never  could  have  come  to  thee  from  thy  Mother 
Nature  ?  Hast  thou  moments  higher  than  the 
physical — moments  of  faith,  of  aspiration,  of  love, 
of  prayer  ?  Hast  thou  times  in  which  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  have  no  glory  by  reason 
of  an  all-excelling  glory  ?  Hast  thou  glimpses 
from  the  summit  of  Nebo  in  which  thy  youth  is 
renewed  like  the  eagle's,  in  which  thine  eye 
ceases  to  be  dim,  and  thy  natural  strength  is 
still  unabated  ?  Then  thou  hast  a  prophecy  of 
immortality,  and  thy  prophecy  is  a  memory. 
The  premonition  of  thy  future  is  the  voice  of  thy 


44  THE  HEREDITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

p.ast.  The  promise  of  thy  destiny  is  the  echo  of 
tliy  origin.  Thou  canst  not  rise  too  high  for 
th}'  source  ;  thou  shalt  go  to  God  because  thou 
hast  come  from  God.  Thy  hope  of  everlasting- 
ness  is  the  knowledge  that  thy  life  is  the  breath 
of  the  Almighty,  and  thy  life  is  the  breath  of  the 
Almighty  because  the  Spirit  of  God  has  made 
thee. 


XVII. 

xrbe  MorlDl-o  IMccessitv^  of  tbe  Spirit 

"  If  He  gather  unto  Himself  His  Spirit  and  His  breath  ;  all  flesh 
shall  perish  together,  and  man  shall  turn  again  unto  dust." 

— Job  xxxiv.  14,  15. 

i^Wri^^  it  so  !      I  never  knew  that  man  was   so 
"MW^      dependent    on    the   Spirit    of    God.      I 


mm 


always  knew  indeed  that  the  Spirit  was 
necessary  to  man's  salvation,  but  it  never  occurred 
to  me  that  it  was  required  even  to  keep  up  the 
flesh.  I  understood  well  enough  that  its  removal 
would  shut  out  a  man  from  the  other  world,  but 
I  never  thought  that  its  removal  would  make  it 
impossible  to  live  in  this.  Yet  this  is  what  the 
Bible  says.  It  tells  me  that  the  Divine  Spirit 
is  necessary  even  to  the  life  of  the  human.  It 
tells  me  that  if  the  Spirit  of  God  were  gathered 
back  to  Himself,  there  would  be  a  simultaneous 
collapse  of  the  world  called  secular,  that  the 
products  of  materiili^m  would  disappear  with  the 
death  of  spiritualisTn,  that  the  institutions  of 
earth  would  fade  in  the  vanishing  of  the  breath  of 
heaven,  that  in  the  extinction  of  grace  supreme 
"  all  flesh  would  perish  together." 


46     THE  WORLDLY  NECESSITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

O  Thou  divine  Spirit,  life  would  be  unbearable 
without  Thee.  The  very  fact  that  I  am  not  con- 
sumed by  the  world  is  a  proof  that  Thou  art  iw 
the  world.  I  have  never  seen  anything  at  its 
worst.  Bad  men  would  be  infinitely  more  bad 
but  for  Thee.  The  ship  of  life  is  tossing  but  it 
is  anchored.  I  often  complain  of  the  storm,  and 
say  "Verily  Thou  art  a  God  that  hidest  Thyself." 
If  Thou  didst  hide  Thyself  even  for  a  moment  I 
would  know  what  it  is  to  have  a  storm.  My  very 
complaining  shows  that  the  storm  is  not  natural 
to  me,  that  there  is  more  good  than  evil  in  Thy 
universe.  Thou  art  Thyself  the  good  that  out- 
weighs the  evil.  Thou  art  the  balance  of  all 
discords  ;  Thou  art  the  compensation  of  all  losses  ; 
Thou  art  the  restraint  of  all  violence  ;  Thou  art 
the  limit  of  all  vices.  Thou  art  the  oil  of  every 
troubled  water ;  Thou  art  the  still  small  voice  of 
every  rolling  thiuider ;  Thou  art  the  bow  of  pro- 
mise in  every  threatening  cloud.  Without  Thee 
we  can  do  nothing  even  in  our  own  department ; 
only  in  Thy  life  does  our  life  become  endurable. 
Abide  with  us,  for  our  natural  strength  fades 
into  evening ;  if  Thou  take  away  Thy  breath,  all 
flesh  shall  perish  together. 


XVIII. 

TLbc  %\m\viC5  ot  the  Spirit. 

"  Restore  unto  me  the  joy  of  Thy  salvation  ;  and  uphold  me  with 
Thy  free  Spirit." — Ps.  li.  12. 

lI'IEN  a  man  commits  sin  and  is  forgiven, 
he  finds  the  old  peace  but  he  does  not 
at  once  find  the  old  joy,  he  does  not 
at  once  regain  the  old  freedom.  Jacob  wrestles 
with  the  angel  of  his  own  conscience  and  pre- 
vails, but  as  he  returns  from  the  battle-field  he 
halts  upon  his  thigh.  How  should  it  be  other- 
wise ?  The  Divine  Spirit  like  every  other  spirit 
is  a  hadil  of  life,  and  a  habit  is  onl^  acquired  by 
time.  If  my  soul  casts  off  its  old  habit  to-day, 
it  can  easily  put  it  on  again  to-morrow,  but  it 
must  not  expect  it  to  fit  so  well  as  it  did  yester- 
day. David  has  slain  Uriah,  and  his  conscience 
has  pursued  him.  He  has  struggled  for  pardon, 
he  has  wrestled  for  peace ;  he  has  conquered, 
but  he  has  come  back  with  the  shrunk  sinew. 
He  has  received  the  forgiveness,  he  has  obtained 
the  blessing,  he  has  paid  the  exacted  penalty,  but 
he  misses  the  old  elasticity,  he  wants  the  former 


4S  THE  LUXURIES  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

joy.  He  is  afraid  to  put  down  the  foot  with  the 
vigour  of  other  3'ears  ;  the  breaking  of  the  habit 
has  broken  his  confidence,  and  so  it  has  broken 
his  freedom.  He  has  returned  in  safety  from 
the  midnight  struggle,  but  he  wants  something 
more  than  safety  :  "  Restore  to  me  the  joy  of  Th}'' 
salvation  and  uphold  me  by  Thy  free  Spirit." 

My  Father,  give  me  back  the  luxuries  of  Thy 
Spirit — its  freedom  and  its  joy.  I  am  not  con- 
tent with  mere  pardon  ;  I  am  not  satisfied  with 
bare  redemption.  I  am  not  comforted  with 
simple  salvation  ;  I  want  the  joy  of  salvation. 
It  is  not  enough  that  1  am  at  peace  with  Thee, 
it  is  not  enough  that  I  am  reconciled  to  Thee  ; 
I  must  be  able  to  be  glad  in  Thee.  Only  in 
perfect  joy  shall  I  find  perfect  freedom.  I 
would  not  like  to  be  always  in  tremor  lest  by 
any  word  I  should  oflfend  Thee  ;  prayer  would 
die  on  the  threshold  of  my  heart  if  it  were  not 
winged  by  fearlessness.  I  shall  never  lose  my 
fear  until  I  have  felt  myself  akin  to  Thee,  and  I 
shall  never  feel  that  kinship  until  Thy  Spirit  has 
come.  I  shall  never  meet  Thee  face  to  face  until 
Thy  will  is  my  will,  until  I  have  realised  that 
between  Thee  and  me  there  exists  an  equality  of 
soul.  I  tremble  before  Thee  because  I  look  up 
to  Thee  as  a  master ;  teach  me  to  feel  that  I  am 
not  a  servant  but  a  son.  I  ask  piteously  for  the 
crumbs  that  fall  from  Thy  table ;   make   me  to 


THE  LUXURIES  OF  THE  S:  IRIT.  49 

know  that  I  liave  a  right  to  the  fatted  calf  and 
the  best  ring  and  the  fairest  robe.  I  am  speak- 
ing of  my  reh'gious  duties;  inspire  me  with  a 
sense  of  my  religious  privileges,  of  the  ease  that 
comes  from  living  on  the  lap  of  luxury.  Thy 
grace  shall  become  my  nature  when  I  have 
reached  \.\\e  joy  of  Thy  salvation. 


XIX. 
Ubc  Spirit  in  tbe  Hnimal  MorlD, 

"  These  wait  all  upon  Thee  .  .  .  Thou  sendest  forth  Thy  Spirit, 
they  are  created." — Ps.  civ.  27,  30, 

Fj^HO  are  the  "all"  here  spoken  of? 
l^'W/§  They  are  the  living  creatures  of  the 
whole  earth.  What  !  you  say,  the 
creatures  of  the  animal  world  !  can  these  be 
said  to  be  in  possession  of  God's  Spirit  ?  I  can 
understand  very  well  how  man  should  be  thus 
privileged.  I  can  understand  why  a  being  of 
such  nobleness  as  the  human  soul  should  lay 
claim  to  a  distinctive  pre-eminence.  But  is  it 
not  a  bold  thing  to  say  that  the  human  soul  is 
in  contact  with  the  beast  of  the  field  ?  Is  it  not 
a  degradation  of  my  nature  to  affirm  that  the 
same  Spirit  which  created  me  created  also  the 
tenants  of  the  deep  ?  No,  my  brother ;  if  you 
shall  find  in  God's  Spirit  the  missing  link  between 
yourself  and  the  animal  world  you  will  reach  a 
Darwinism  where  there  is  nothing  to  degrade. 
You  are  not  come  from  them,  but  you  and  thej' 
together  are  the  offspring  of  God.      Would  3'ou 


THE  SPIRIT  IN  THE  ANIMAL  WORLD,  51 

have  preferred  to  have  had  no  such  link  between 
you  ?  It  is  your  forgetfulness  of  that  link  that 
has  made  you  cruel  to  the  creatures  below.  You 
do  not  oppress  your  brother  man,  because  you 
know  him  to  be  your  brother;  but  3'ou  think 
the  beast  of  the  field  has  no  contact  with  the 
sympathy  of  your  soul.  It  has  a  contact,  an 
irrefragable,  indestructible  contact.  You  are 
bound  together  by  one  Spirit  of  creation  ;  you 
sit  at  one  communion  table  of  nature  ;  you  are 
members  of  one  body  of  natural  life.  The  glory 
of  being  united  to  thy  Father  is  that  in  Him 
thou  shalt  be  united  to  everything.  Thou  shalt 
be  allied  not  only  to  the  highest  but  to  the 
lowest,  thou  shalt  be  able  not  only  to  go  up  but 
to  go  down.  Thou  shalt  have  the  power  that 
thy  Lord  had — the  power  to  empty  thyself  to 
the  lowermost,  to  the  uttermost.  Thou  shalt 
feel  that  thou  owest  all  things  thy  sympathy 
when  thou  hast  recognised  this  relationship 
through  the  same  divine  Spirit. 


XX. 

Z\}c  ipervaMnoness  ot  tbe  Spirit. 

"Whither  shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit?  or  whither  shall  1  flee  from 
Thy  presence?" — Ps.  cxxxix.  7. 

GLORIOUS  imprisonment,  O  splendid 
bondage,  O  divine  wall  of  enclosure  !  I 
am  shut  in  by  Thee.  I  am  more  shut  in 
by  Thee  than  I  used  to  be.  In  the  days  of  old, 
to  be  driven  out  of  Eden  was  to  be  driven  from 
the  presence  of  the  Lord.  But  Thy  presence  is 
no  longer  limited  to  Eden.  Thou  hast  filled 
with  Thy  glory  the  things  that  once  were  out- 
side of  Thee^ — the  harp  and  the  organ,  the  brass 
and  the  iron,  the  tents  and  tabernacles  of  daily 
life.  The  ark  of  Thy  presence  was  once  shut  in 
to  keep  out  the  flood,  but  now  it  is  opened  to  take 
in  the  flood  itself.  The  seer  of  Patmos  said  of 
Thy  regenerated  world,  "  I  beheld  no  temple 
therein."  No  wonder ;  when  Thy  presence 
shall  be  seen  in  every  place,  there  shall  be  no 
special  place  sacred  unto  Thee.  And  indeed, 
whether  we  see  it  or  not,  Thou  art  already 
everywhere.      We  build   churches   to  Thee  and 


THE  PERVADINGNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  53 

consecrate  them,  but  the  site  was  consecrated 
before  there  was  any  church.  In  Thine  eyes 
here  is  no  difference  between  secular  and  sacred. 
All  work  is  Thy  work,  all  service  is  Thy  service, 
all  days  are  Thy  day.  I  call  my  moral  duties 
mere  morality  to  distinguish  them  from  my 
religion.  Why  should  I  seek  thus  to  go  from 
Thy  Spirit,  why  should  I  strive  thus  to  flee  from 
Thy  presence  ?  The  wall  is  of  my  own  making, 
not  Thine.  Thou  claimcst  all  my  duties  as  Thy 
worship.  Thou  callest  all  my  acts  by  sacred 
names.  I  speak  of  my  aspirations  ;  Thou  callest 
them  pra^'ers.  I  speak  of  ni}'  joys ;  1  hou 
callest  them  psalms.  I  speak  of  my  hopes ; 
Thou  callest  them  acts  of  faith.  Help  me  to 
consecrate  the  daily  life.  Help  me  to  write  Thy 
name  on  the  commonplace.  Help  me  to  ex- 
perience Thy  presence  in  the  region  which  men 
have  styled  "  the  world,  Help  me  to  taste  the 
bread  of  Thy  communion  in  every  act  of  kindness 
given  or  received,  to  reverence  as  Thy  cup  the 
cup  of  earthly  water,  even  though  bestowed  only 
in  a  disciple's  name.  I  shall  serve  Thee  day  and 
night  in  Thy  temple  when  I  can  say  "  Whither 
shall  I  go  from  Thy  Spirit." 


XXI. 

Ube  Goo^ne55  of  tbe  Spirit 

"  Teach  me  to  do  Thy  will  ;  for  Thou  art  my  God  :  Thy  Spirit  is 
good  ;  lead  me  into  the  land  of  uprightness." — Ps.  cxliii.  lo. 

^P^^HAT  a  difference  from  the  Mohammedan's 
^^m  prayer.  He  too  prays  "  Teach  me  Thy 
^^  "  will."  He  too  asks  that  God  would  lead 
him  to  a  destined  land.  But  the  resemblance 
ends  there.  Tke  Mohammedan  wants  to  be 
taught  God's  will  because  it  is  destiny ;  the 
Psalmist  because  it  is  good.  To  the  Psalmist 
God's  will  is  not  an  arbitrary  thing.  It  is  not 
the  product  of  caprice,  it  is  not  the  impulse  of  a 
passing  hour ;  it  is  the  voice  of  a  character  that 
has  no  choice  but  righteousness,  "Thy  Spirit  is 
good."  He  would  not  say  "  Thy  will  be  done," 
to  evejy  object  of  worship.  It  is  not  will  which 
he  reverences  ;  it  is  the  power  behind  the  will 
— the  Spirit.  He  would  not  allow  himself  to 
be  led  by  a  blind  fate  that  knows  not  where  it 
steers  and  cares  not  where  it  tends.  He  attaches 
no  value  to  submission  for  the  sake  of  submission  ; 
what  he  wajits  is  submission  to  the  n'g/it.      He 


THE  GOODNESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  55 

will  only  obey  a  will  which  comes  froin  a  "good 
spirit,"  and  which,  because  it  comes  from  a  good 
spirit,  leads  to  a  land  of  uprightness. 

My  Father,  help  me  as  a  follower  of  Christ 
to  say  "  Thy  will  be  done."  As  a  follower  of 
Christ :  it  is  easy  to  say  it  as  a  follower  of 
Mohammed.  What  am  I  that  I  should  resist 
Thy  decrees  or  refuse  to  bend  beneath  Thy  man- 
dates ?  But  I  do  not  wish  to  bend  ;  Thou  dost 
not  wish  me  to  bend.  Thou  wouldest  not  have 
me  accept  Thy  will  because  I  must  but  because 
I  may.  Thou  wouldest  have  me  take  it,  not 
with  resignation,  but  with  joy,  not  with  the 
absence  of  murmur,  but  with  the  song  of  praise. 
How  shall  I  reach  this  goal  ?  I  shall  only  reach 
it  by  feeling  what  the  Psalmist  felt — that  Thy 
will  comes  from  a  "good  Spirit"  and  goes  to- 
wards a  land  of  uprightness.  Teach  me  that 
Thy  will  is  love ;  teach  me  that  Thy  love  is 
wise.  Guide  me  not  blindfold,  but  with  open 
eyes.  Grant  me  the  power  to  look  both  behind 
and  before — behind  to  "  Thy  good  Spirit,"  before 
to  "  the  land  of  uprightness."  Give  me  the 
blessedness  of  the  man  whose  delight  is  in  Thy 
law,  who  can  tell  of  Thy  statutes  rejoicing  the 
heart.  I  shall  obey  Thy  will  in  perfect  freedom 
when  I  can  say  "  Thy  Spirit  is  good." 


XXII. 

trbe  ^Uumination  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"  Behold  I  will  pour  out  my  Spirit  unto  you,  I  will  make  known 
my  words  unto  you." — Pkov.  i.  23. 

V  HE  words   of  a  man  are  no  revelation  to 


thee  until  thou  hast  received  his  spirit. 

It  is  not  the  words  that  speak  to  thee; 
it  is  the  common  experience  between  thyself  and 
the  speaker.  In  vain  will  he  talk  to  thee  of 
sorrow  if  thou  hast  not  known  sorrow;  in  vain 
will  he  discourse  to  thee  of  beauty  if  thou  hast 
not  felt  beauty.  All  thy  revelations  come  from 
the  spirit  within  thee.  If  thy  spirit  is  not  on 
the  same  mental  height  with  him  who  walks  by 
thy  side  his  words  will  to  thee  be  the  accents  of 
a  foreign  tongue.  Even  so  is  it  with  the  words 
of  God.  The  reading  of  all  the  chapters  in  the 
Bible  will  not  reveal  God  to  thee  until  they  bear 
witness  with  thy  spirit.  Creation  must  precede 
revelation.  Before  God  can  speak  to  thee  He 
must  raise  thee  up  to  His  own  level.  The 
divine  alone  can  understand  the  divine.  There 
are  words  lying  in   thy  memory  which   are  not 


THE  ILLUMINATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  57 

yet  revealed  to  thee — holy  words,  sacred  words, 
words  learned  at  a  mother's  knee,  but  whose 
beauty  is  by  thee  as  yet  unfelt,  unseen.  When 
the  Spirit  comes  the  old  words  will  come  to  thee 
as  something  new.  Thou  shalt  rharvcl  at  what 
thou  hast  passed  by  unnoticed  on  the  way. 
Thou  shalt  wonder  at  the  richness  of  the  Lord's 
Prayer,  at  the  power  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount, 
at  the  tenderness  of  the  story  of  a  prodigal  son. 
Thou  shalt  be  surprised  at  the  melody  of  old 
psalms,  thrilled  by  the  novelty  of  familiar  inci- 
dents, stirred  by  the  freshness  of  well-known 
passages.  To  him  who  is  a  new  creature  old 
things  are  all  made  new  ;  the  mine  that  was  empty 
to  the  eye  of  sense,  to  the  spirit  reveal 3  gold. 

Thou  divine  Spirit  illuminate  to  me  the  words 
of  the  Lord.  Show  me  the  wealth  of  glory  that 
lies  beneath  the  old  familiar  stories.  Teach  me 
the  depth  of  meaning  that  is  hid  in  the  songs  of 
Zion.  Raise  me  to  the  height  of  aspiration  that 
is  compassed  by  the  wings  of  the  prophet.  Lift 
me  to  the  summit  of  faith  that  is  trod  by  the 
feet  of  the  Apostle.  "  Open  thou  mine  eyes,  that 
I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  Thy  law." 
The  wonders  are  in  Thy  law  already  ;  they  do 
not  need  to  be  put  there.  But  until  Thou  comest 
my  eyes  are  in  want  of  a  lens  by  which  to  see 
them.  They  are  like  the  well  of  water  which 
Hagar  did  not  behold,  like  the  ram  caught  in  the 


58  THE  ILLUMINATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

thicket  which  Abraham  did  not  discern,  like  the 
cake  prepared  on  the  fire  which  Ehjah  did  not 
recognise.  We  need  angels  to  tell  us  these 
things  though  they  lie  on  our  daily  path.  Shine 
in  our  hearts,  Thou  better  Sun,  and  glorify  the 
ancient  message.  Light  up  the  old  texts,  irra- 
diate the  time-worn  phrases,  deepen  the  by- 
gone meanings,  revise  the  inadequate  readings, 
reveal  the  latent  applications,  unlock  the  hidden 
doors.  I  shall  find  the  treasures  in  my  earthen 
vessels  when  Thou  hast  made  known  the  words 
of  the  Lord. 


XXIII. 
XTbe  peace  of  tbe  Spirit 

"And  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  shall  rest  upon  Him." — IsA.  xi.  2. 

•^Sr^LONE  among  the  sons  of  men  the  Spirit 
/^W' x"^  came  to  Him  in  the  form  of  rest.  To 
^'^^'^  '  us  it  always  comes  in  the  form  of 
unrest.  The  begininngs  of  new  life  ever  make 
us  restless.  We  are  disquieted  by  the  novelty 
of  our  own  vision,  we  are  pained  by  its  unlikeness 
to  our  present  selves.  Why  is  youth  the  time 
of  unrest  ?  It  is  because  youth  carries  in  its 
bosom  a  life  higher  than  its  own — the  germ 
of  that  coming  man  for  whose  coming  it  is  not 
yet  ready.  God's  Spirit  also  comes  as  a  germ 
in  the  bosom  of  a  life  not  its  own.  It  comes 
into  the  heart  while  the  heart  is  yet  in  winter ; 
it  sings  as  a  swallow  in  the  cold.  It  is  too  big 
for  its  environment,  it  has  seen  too  much  for  its 
surroundings ;  so  it  beats  against  the  bars  and 
struggles  to  be  free.  But  far  otherwise  was  it 
with  Him.  When  the  Spirit  came  to  Hivn  it 
came  to  no  foreign  soil ;  His  heart  was  ready 
for  it.      There  was  no  struggle  between  the  year 


6o  THE  PEACE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

that  was  coming  and  the  year  that  was  going; 
the  dove  from  heaven  rested  in  the  pure  waters 
of  an  already  prepared  soul.  There  was  no 
strife  between  the  breath  of  the  divine  Spirit 
and  the  atmosphere  of  the  earthly  wilderness ; 
it  was  the  Spirit  that  led  Him  into  the  wilder- 
ness. It  was  the  underlying  rest  that  conquered 
for  Him  the  outward  tempest.  It  made  the 
stones  bread  in  the  valley ;  it  gave  calm.ness 
on  the  dizzy  height.  It  smoothed  a  passage 
through  the  sea ;  it  multiplied  sustenance  in  a 
desert  land.  It  bore  the  solitary  burden  of  the 
garden  ;  it  endured  the  universal  burden  of  the 
cross.  It  was  a  peace  eternal,  a  peace  con- 
tinuous, a  peace  independent  of  war;  the  Spirit 
res/cd  on  Him. 

Son  of  man,  let  me  enter  into  Thy  rest. 
Fulfil  to  me  Thy  latest  promise,  send  me  Thy 
peace.  I  often  get  Thy  Spirit  in  flashes — in 
moments  of  transfiguration,  in  heights  of  Pisgah. 
But  I  want  more  than  its  flashes  ;  I  want  its 
abiding  rest.  I  want  it  to  come  to  me  as  a 
permanent  power,  to  be  with  me  alway  even 
unto  the  end  of  the  world.  I  want  it  to  be 
something  which  the  world  can  neither  give  nor 
take  avva3^,  which  the  hosannahs  of  Jerusalem 
cannot  create  nor  the  tears  of  Gethsemane  de- 
stroy. That  is  what  Thou  hast  promised  me, 
that  is  what  I  wait  for.      Nothing  less  will  make 


THE  PEACE  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  6l 

life  tolerable  to  me  ;  nothing  more  remains  to 
make  it  perfect.  Thy  peace  passeth  all  un- 
derstanding because  it  is  unchanged  amid  the 
changing;  give  me  abo  this  fadeless  bloom. 
Grant  me  too  the  power  to  pass  from  the  opened 
heavens  into  the  clouded  wilderness  and  to  hear 
undimmed  the  voice  "  This  is  my  beloved  Son." 
The  dove  that  lighted  on  me  at  the  Jordan  must 
abide  with  me  in  the  desert ;  the  desert  will 
be  a  Paradise  when  Thy  Spirit  has  rested 
upon  me. 


XXIV. 

XTbe  Spirit's  Streiiotb  to  a  IRation. 

"  Becausi;  the  palaces  shall  be  forsaken  ;  the  multitude  of  the  city 
shall  be  left ;  the  forts  and  towers  shall  be  for  dens  for  ever,  a  joy  of 
wild  asses,  a  pasture  of  flocks  ;  until  the  Spirit  be  poured  upon  us 
from  on  high." — ISA.  xxxii.  14,  15. 

jHREE  things  are  here  said  to  depend 
|a|S  on  the  Spirit — the  palace,  the  city,  and 
the  tower.  The  Spirit  is  the  glory  of 
ro^'alty  ;  to  be  a  king  in  God's  sense  is  to  be  the 
servant  of  all.  The  Spirit  is  the  secret  of  citizen- 
ship ;  to  be  a  citizen  in  God's  sense  is  to  be  the 
brother  of  all.  The  Spirit  is  the  root  of  warlike 
strength  ;  to  be  a  soldier  in  God's  sense  is  to  be 
the  defender  of  all — the  defender  of  that  righteous- 
ness which  is  at  last  the  universal  interest.  God's 
Spirit  is  for  the  nation  as  well  as  for  the  man, 
and  these  three  are  the  blessings  of  the  nation. 
What  else  can  I  ask  for  my  country  than  this 
trinity  of  privileges — that  her  court  shall  be 
always  pure,  that  her  cities  shall  be  always 
flourishing,  and  that  in  the  cause  of  righteousness 
her  towers  shall  be  always  strong. 

Lord  of  nations,  bless  our  native  land.      Let 


THE  SPIRIT'S  vSTRENGTH  TO  A  NATION.        63 

Thy  divine  Spirit  be  incarnated  in  its  threefold 
life — in  its  rulers,  in  its  citizens,  in  its  soldiers. 
Impress  its  rulers  with  the  responsibility  of  being 
great,  the  weightedness  of  being  ministers  to  all. 
Impress  its  citizens  with  the  multitude  of  their 
claims,  the  vastness  of  that  brotherhood  of  wh'ch 
they  are  members.  Impress  its  soldiers  with  the 
fearlessness  that  is  born  of  duty,  the  courage 
that  comes  from  devotion  to  the  just  and  true. 
Purify  its  palaces,  cleanse  its  streets,  strengthen 
its  bulwarks.  Teach  its  rulers  to  say  "  Thy  will 
be  done,"  its  citizens  to  cry  "  hallowed  be  Thy 
name,"  its  soldiers  to  pray  "  Thy  kingdom  come." 
Let  its  kings  be  priests  unto  Thee  ;  let  its  citizens 
be  fathers  to  the  multitude  ;  let  its  soldiers  be 
peacemakers  to  the  world.  May  Thine  altars  not 
be  removed  from  the  high  places  ;  may  Thy  word 
not  be  silent  in  the  homes  of  industrious  toil ; 
may  Thy  banner  be  unfurled  in  the  camp  and 
on  the  field.  Then  shall  our  land  be  full  of  Thy 
glory,  a  universal  priesthood,  a  holy  convocation. 
Then  shall  we  be  numbered  amongst  those 
nations  which  stand  already  at  the  right  hand 
of  Thy  judgment  seat  and  receive  from  Thee 
the  blessing  of  the  ministrant,  "  Enter  ye  into  the 
joy  of  your  Lord."  Thy  Spirit  shall  be  poured 
on  us  from  on  high  when  Thou  hast  exalted  our 
palaces,  our  cities,  and  our  towers. 


XXV. 

ITbe  Spirit's  mobe  of  IReoeneration* 

"  The  grass  vvithereth,  the  flower  fadeth :  because  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  bloweth  upon  it :  surely  the  people  is  grass." — ISA.  xl.  7. 


I 


f  HAT  !  the  Spirit  a  destroyer  !  I  thought 
M  it  was  the  source  of  life.  I  would 
have  expected  it  to  have  been  written, 
"The  grass  withcreth  because  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  doth  iwt  blow  upon  it."  Here  for  the  first 
time  the  breath  of  the  Spirit  is  said  to  give  not 
life  but  death.  Yes,  but  is  not  death  the  pre- 
lude to  life  ?  "  That  which  thou  sowest  is  not 
quickened  except  it  die."  I  used  to  think  it 
strange  that  among  the  gods  of  the  Hindoos 
there  was  one  worshipped  as  "  the  Destroyer ; " 
is  not  the  Spirit  here  worshipped  as  the  destroyer 
■ — the  witherer  of  the  grass.  And  is  it  not  well 
that  the  grass  should  wither  ?  Is  not  grass  the 
very  emblem  of  fadingness,  the  very  principle  of 
death.  Is  not  to  say  that  the  grass  shall  wither, 
equivalent  to  saying  that  death  shall  die.  The 
flowering  of  the  flesh  is  killing  the  word  of  the 
Lord  within  me ;   if  that  word  is  to  endure  for 


THE  SPIRIT'S  MODE  OF  REGENERATION.       65 

ever,  the  flowering  of  the  flesh  must  fade.  What 
power  shall  make  it  fade,  what  but  the  Spirit 
divine  ?  Shall  the  breath  that  gave  life  to  the 
waters  do  otherwise  than  destroy  the  adversary 
of  its  own  gift  ?  Shall  it  not  blow  upon  the 
flesh  that  impedes  the  immortal  life,  shall  it  not 
breathe  upon  the  grass  that  buries  the  word  of 
the  Lord  ? 

O  Thou  divine  Destroyer,  Thou  crucifier  of 
sin.  Thou  abolisher  of  death,  we  worship  Thee. 
Spirit  of  Calvary,  Spirit  of  the  redeeming  Christ, 
blow  upon  our  deadness  that  it  may  die.  Wither 
all  in  my  heart  that  would  wither  Thy  word. 
Wither  its  pride,  its  self-seeking,  its  vanity. 
Wither  its  malice,  its  hatred,  its  envy,  its  all 
uncharitableness.  Wither  its  preference  for  the 
seen  and  temporal,  its  estimation  of  the  dross 
above  the  gold.  Wither  its  hopes  of  being  happy 
through  the  love  of  self,  its  prospects  of  avoiding 
misery  through  forgetfulness  of  others.  Wither 
the  gourd  that  shuts  out  the  larger  view,  that 
prevents  me  from  seeing  the  woes  of  Nineveh. 
When  Thou  blowest  upon  the  grass,  mortality 
shall  be  swallowed  up  of  life  ;  when  the  flower 
of  the  flesh  shall  fade,  Thy  word  shall  endure 
for  ever. 


XXVI. 

Ube  IfDeroism  ot  the  Spirit 

"  I  have  put  my  Spirit  upon  Him  ;  He  shall  bring  forth  judgment 
to  the  Gentiles.  He  shall  not  cry,  nor  lift  up,  nor  cause  His  voice 
to  be  heard  in  the  street.  A  bruised  reed  shall  He  not  break,  and 
the  smoking  flax  shall  He  not  quench." — Is  A.  xlii.  1-3. 

[HAT  a  strange  mode  of  bringing  forth 
judgment !  What  a  strange  mode  es- 
pecially of  bringing  forth  judgment  "  to 
the  Gentiles."  A  Gentile's  evidence  for  a  man's 
possession  of  the  divine  Spirit  was  just  the  con- 
trary ;  it  was  his  power  to  cry,  to  lift  up  his 
voice,  to  let  his  anger  be  heard  in  the  street,  to 
break  the  bruised  reed  and  quench  the  smoking 
flax ;  it  was  for  gifts  such  as  these  that  the 
Roman  raised  his  heroes  to  the  skies.  But  here 
is  a  new  and  unheard-of  heroism.  Here  is  a 
heroism  whose  strength  consists  in  the  power  to 
suffer  and  not  cry.  Here  is  a  Spirit  which 
claims  to  be  divine  on  the  ground  not  of  breaking 
but  of  being  broken,  not  of  bruising,  but  of  being 
bruised.  The  Gentiles  are  judged  by  a  new 
standard  of  strength — the  standard  of  patience. 
They  are  no  longer  measured  by  what  they  can 


THE  HEROISM  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  67 

do,  but  by  what  they  can  bear.  They  arc  no 
longer  vahied  by  the  burdens  they  can  impose, 
but  by  the  burdens  they  can  sustain.  They 
are  no  longer  asked  how  many  towers  they  have 
pulled  down,  how  many  victims  they  have  slain, 
how  many  homes  they  have  made  desolate. 
They  are  asked  how  many  defeats  they  have 
borne  undismayed,  how  many  crosses  they  have 
received  unmurmuring,  how  many  obloquies  they 
have  endured  unavenged.  The  valley  has  become 
a  mountain,  and  the  mountain  a  valley.  The 
gentleness  which  was  a  mark  of  contempt  has 
made  its  possessor  great,  and  the  testimonial  for 
admission  into  the  new  army  is  this  :  "  He  shall 
not  strive  nor  cry." 

Son  of  Man,  teach  me  the  new  ideal  of  manli- 
ness. Teach  me  the  divinity  of  patience,  the 
glory  of  long-suftering,  the  strength  of  endur- 
ance, the  majesty  of  self-restraint.  Teach  me 
the  heroism  as  well  as  the  blessedness  of  being 
poor  in  spirit,  meek,  merciful,  peace-making. 
Thou  hast  said  "  they  shall  be  called  the  children 
of  God."  Thou  hast  promised  that  the  time 
shall  come  when  the  peace-makers  shall  not  only 
be  God's  children,  but  shall  be  called  it — have 
the  reputation  of  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  world. 
Hasten  that  happy  time.  Hasten  the  day  when 
the  garland  shall  be  woven  for  the  restraint  of 
passion,  when   the   brow  shall  be  wreathed  for 


THE  HEROISM  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


the  suhjugaiion  of  temper,  when  the  monument 
shall  be  raised  for  the  refusal  to  lift  up  the  voice. 
Ring  in  the  age  when  we  shall  prize  the  tender- 
beared,  when  we  shall  reverence  the  forbearing, 
whent  we  shall  bow  down  before  the  power  to 
forgive.  Bring  in  the  new  judgment-day  when 
we  shall  measure  our  strength  by  our  capacity 
for  endurance,  our  weakness  by  our  inability  to 
bear.  The  Gentiles  shall  judge  themselves  by 
Thy  standaid  of  power  when  they  learn  that 
Thy  spirit  of  siknce  is  the  Spirit  of  God. 


XXVII. 

XTbe  (Slualification  tov  tbe  Spirit. 

"  For  I  will  pour  water  upon  him  that  is  thirsty,  and  floods  upon 
the  dry  ground  :  I  will  pour  my  Spirit  upon  thy  seed." — ISA.  xliv.  3, 

^^^Y  qualification  for  being  made  divine  is  my 
M^P  thirstiness,  my  sense  of  want.  That 
^^'^^^  which  makes  me  capable  of  receiving 
God's  Spirit  is  not  my  feeling  of  boundlessness, 
but  my  struggle  with  limitations.  That  which 
makes  me  greater  than  the  beasts  of  the  field  is 
not  my  superior  strength,  but  my  superior  insight 
into  my  own  weakness.  My  greatness  is  my 
sense  of  needs  unsatisfied.  Everything  about  me 
which  makes  me  human  is  a  form  of  thirst.  My 
speculation  is  the  thirst  of  my  understanding. 
My  love  is  the  thirst  of  my  heart.  My  aspiration 
is  the  thirst  of  my  fanc}'.  My  prayer  is  the 
thirst  of  my  spirit.  I  am  a  bundle  of  longings, 
and  my  longings  are  all  prophecies.  I  could 
not  long  for  anything  if  I  had  reached  finality. 
Why  do  I  seek  so  many  things  that  arc  not  here  ? 
Why  do  I  not  sing  through  the  world  as  tlie 
bird  sings  through  the  firmament  ?     It  is  because 


5-0       THE  QUALIFICATION  FOR  THE  SPIRIT. 

tlie  firmament  is  the  bird's  environment ;  the 
world  is  not  my  environment.  If  it  were,  I  too 
would  sing.  But  there  is  that  within  me  which 
is  not  met  by  aught  around  me.  My  eye  is  not 
satisfied  with  its  seeing,  nor  my  ear  with  its 
hearing.  My  intellect  is  not  filled  with  its 
knowledge,  nor  my  heart  with  its  love.  I  seek 
a  perfect  beauty,  a  perfect  music,  a  perfect 
wisdom,  a  perfect  soul.  My  thirst  is  the  pro- 
phecy of  an  environment  yet  to  be  ;  I  long  for 
Thy  Spirit,  O  Lord,  and  thereby  I  know  that. 
Thou  too  longest  for  me.  Nothing  but  Thyself 
can  enclose  the  aspirations  of  my  heart,  because 
nothing  but  ;;7)'sclf  can  meet  the  desires  of  Thine, 
I  am  incomplete  without  Thee,  because  without 
me  Thy  fulness  has  not  come.  Come  to  my 
heart  and  we  shall  dwell  together,  I  in  Thee  and 
Thou  in  me.  Come  to  my  heart  and  its  hunger- 
ing shall  be  filled,  and  Thy  love  shall  be  satisfied, 
and  we  shall  be  one.  Come  to  my  heart  and 
there  shall  be  a  union  of  earth  and  heaven  ;  day 
and  night  shall  meet  together,  omnipotence  and 
frailty  shall  embrace  each  other.  I  hope  for  Thy 
Spirit  because  I  thirst  for  Thee. 


XXVIII. 

XTbc  povvec  of  tbc  Spirit 

"When  the  enemy  shall  come  in  like  a  flood,  the  Spirit  of  the 
Lord  shall  lift  up  a  standard  against  him." — ISA.  lix.  19. 


v^  BEAUTIFUL  contrast  here — the  gentle 
^^W\      Spirit  standing  against  the  tempestuous 


flood.      It  would   seem  as  if  the  calm 


&m 


Spirit  would  be  a  feeble  standard-bearer  in  the 
face  of  the  rushing  waters.  But  in  truth  it  is 
not  so.  Have  you  ever  measured  the  strength 
that  lies  in  being  conscious  of  the  right?  It 
has  doubled  the  power  of  armies.  What  is  the 
reason  that  nations  going  to  war  are  so  eager  to 
impress  the  world  with  the  justice  of  their  cause  ? 
It  is  because  they  know  that  to  feel  the  justice 
of  a  cause  is  to  have  half  the  battle  won.  There 
is  a  power  in  the  sense  of  right  which  covers 
much  weakness  ;  there  is  a  weakness  in  the 
sense  of  wrong  that  destroys  much  power.  I 
am  not  fully  armed  till  I  am  armed  with  the 
whole  armour  of  God.  I  have  not  raised  a 
perfect  embankmen.t  against  the  flood  until  the 
Spirit  of  the  Lord  has  planted  Ilis  standard  there. 


72  THE  POWER  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

Spirit  of  Clirist,  help  me  to  say  "  it  is  Thy 
ill."  No  armour  equals  the  sense  of  duty. 
When  I  hear  Thy  voice  on  the  waters  saying 
"  It  is  I,"  the  waters  themselves  subside  and 
become  a  great  calm.  Nothing  can  make  me 
calm  amid  the  waters  but  that  duty-call.  When 
the  enemy  comes  in  like  a  flood,  my  heart  is 
overwhelmed  within  me  and  I  cry  to  be  saved 
from  the  storm.  But  when  duty  says,  "it  is  I," 
I  no  longer  wish  to  be  saved  from  the  storm ; 
I  go  out  to  meet  it.  My  strength  to  meet  it  is 
still  the  same,  no  less  and  no  more ;  the  one  new 
thing  is  Thy  voice  of  conscience.  But  that  is 
the  addition  of  omnipotence ;  it  rebukes  the 
waves ;  it  makes  me  strong.  Thy  standard  is 
a  moral  standard  ;  when  that  is  lifted  up  I  fear 
no  foe.  Lift  up  that  standard,  Thou  Spirit  of 
iruth.  Say  "  It  is  I,  be  not  afraid."  Say  to  my 
trembling  soul,  It  is  thy  duty,  it  is  thy  mission,  it 
is  thy  call.  Say  to  my  fainting  heart.  The  voice 
of  the  Lord  is  upon  the  waters,  the  standard 
of  the  Lord  shall  be  thy  rearward.  Say  to  my 
faltering  will.  The  right  is  on  thy  side  ;  "  Lo  !  / 
eT.m  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the  end  of  the 
world."  Though  the  waters  rise  up  to  the  brim 
they  shall  not  overflow  me,  if  only  Thy  voice 
shall  say  "  Well  done,"  if  only  there  shall  gleam 
behind  me  that  standard  of  rectitude  which  is 
the  lifting  up  of  the  banner  of  Thy  power. 


XXIX. 

Tlbc  /ir^ission  ot  tbc  Spivtt 

"  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord  God  is  upon  me  ;  because  the  Lord  hath 
anointed  me  to  preach  good  tidings  unto  the  meek  ;  He  hath  sent 
me  to  bind  up  the  broken-hearted." — ISA.  Ixi.  i. 

■^\Cv  GREAT  thinker  has  said  that  Chris- 
^t^^'\  tianity  first  taught  man  the  reverence 
^^^"^^  for  things  beneath  him.  It  is  pro- 
foundly true.  The  Spirit  of  Christ  can  say  dis- 
tinctively, "  He  hath  sent  Jiie  to  bind  the  broken 
heart."  It  has  come  through  other  channels  for 
other  purposes,  but  through  this  channel  it  has 
had  but  one  purpose.  Sometimes  its  mission 
has  been  to  teach  me  God's  majesty,  sometimes 
to  reveal  His  beaut}'^,  sometimes  to  proclaim  His 
law.  But  here  in  the  heart  of  Jesus  the  mission 
of  the  Spirit  is  to  show  me  a  new  exhibition  of 
God's  power — His  power  of  infinite  stooping. 
The  divine  majesty  has  ceased  to  dwell  in  the 
heavens  ;  it  has  begun  to  bend  downwards.  It 
has  refused  to  admit  any  longer  that  it  is  outside 
the  world  of  suffering  ;  if  it  be  infinite  it  must 
include   the  cross  as  well   as   the  crown.      Men 


74  THE  MISSION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

have  sought  to  honour  it  by  denying  it  a  home 
amid  the  sorrowful ;  it  repudiates  such  a  hniit 
to  its  universal  presence.  It  demands  admission 
into  lowly  things.  It  claims  access  into  the 
hearts  and  homes  of  the  sad.  It  knocks  at  the 
door  of  the  child-life.  It  asks  an  entrance  into 
the  struggles  of  youth.  It  solicits  participation 
in  the  cares  and  toils  of  manhood.  Its  latest 
glory  is  the  glory  of  incarnation ;  it  empties 
itself. 

.  O  Thou  divine  Spirit,  I  have  found  in  the 
Son  of  man  a  new  test  of  Thy  presence.  I  used 
to  see  Thee  by  the  vision  of  the  eye,  by  the  light 
of  stars  and  S3'stems,  by  the  beauty  of  wood  and 
field.  But  now  I  have  lost  somewhat  of  that 
ancient  glory.  Science  has  stolen  the  splendour 
of  the  stars,  destroyed  the  spontaneity  of  the 
woods  and  fields  ;  I  speak  of  law  where  once  I 
spoke  of  will.  Art  Thou  gone  then  from  my 
modern  life,  Thou  Spirit  of  the  Highest?  No; 
Thou  art  only  gone  into  a  new  channel — from 
the  stars  into  the  soul.  I  see  Thee  now  in  the 
cioss,  in  the  tidings  brought  to  the  meek,  in  the 
binding  of  wounded  hearts.  I  see  Thee  in  my 
reverence  for  things  beneath  me,  in  my  interest 
for  pain,  in  my  sympathy  with  tears.  I  see 
Thee  in  the  elevation  of  every  valley,  in  the 
depression  of  every  mountain,  in  the  crooked 
ways  made  straight  and  the  rough  places  plain. 


THE  MISSION  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  75 

I  see  Thee  in  the  charity  that  bearetli,  believeth, 
hopeth,  cndureth  all  things ;  in  the  love  that 
seeketh  not  her  own  ;  in  the  mercy  that  rejoices 
against  judgment,  in  the  forgiveness  that  wel- 
comes even  from  the  grave.  These  are  the 
tests  of  Thy  presence.  The  heavens  may  tell 
of  Thy  glory  in  more  broken  accents  than  of 
yore,  but  the  strain  has  been  taken  up  by  loftier 
harps  than  theirs.  It  has  passed  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  preach  good  tidings  to  the  meek. 


XXX. 

Zbc  Spirit  scckiuG  tbe  DaUe\?5. 

"  As  a  beast  goeth  down  into  the  valley,  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
caused  him  to  rest." — ISA.  Ixiii.  14. 

[Revised  Version.  "  As  the  cattle  that  go  down  into  the  valley, 
the  Spirit  of  the  Loid  caused  them  to  rest."] 


fM.  [Sh 


|HE  Spirit  gives  us  rest  by  abasing  our 
animal  nature,  "  as  a  beast  goeth  down 
into  the  valley."  The  process  by  which 
the  cattle  go  down  into  the  valley  is  not  restful ; 
it  is  the  descent  of  a  steep.  Their  rest  is  reached 
by  unrest — by  movement  downward.  Even  so 
is  it  with  thy  spiritual  rest.  It  is  only  in  the 
valley  of  humiliation  that  thou  canst  find  it.  By 
nature  thou  art  on  the  mountains.  Thou  art 
standing  on  the  hilltop  of  vanity  ;  thou  seest 
nothing  above  thee ;  thou  art  a  law  unio  thyself. 
And  that  is  the  secret  of  thine  unrest.  Thou 
art  too  near  to  thyself,  too  much  in  communion 
with  thine  own  shadow.  Thou  hast  come  to 
view  thyself  as  the  centre  of  the  universe ; 
therefore  thou  art  spiritually  sick.  Thou  art 
fretted   by  every   breeze  that   does   not    regale 


THE  SPIRIT  SEEKING  THE  VALLEYS.  77 

thee,  thou  art  disturbed  by  every  sunbeam  that 
does  not  cheer.  But  hast  thou  forgotten  that 
thou  art  but  one  of  a  vast  family  every  one  of 
whom  must  be  ministered  unto  even  as  thou  ? 
Hast  thou  forgotten  that  joy  comes  only  by  self- 
forgetfulness,  that  he  who  loveth  his  life  shall 
lose  it  ?  Thou  art  in  need  of  humilit};,  thou  art 
in  want  of  the  valley,  O  my  soul.  God's  Spirit 
must  lead  thee  down  as  the  cattle  are  led  down. 
Thou  must  be  brought  into  a  lowly  place  where 
thy  pride  shall  die.  Thou  must  be  crucified  to- 
gether with  Christ  that  thou  mayest  live  ;  thou 
must  be  buried  in  the  shadows  ot  evening  that 
there  may  be  light.  O  glorious  shadows  that 
hide  me  from  my  own  shadow,  O  gentle  valley 
that  divides  me  from  the  mountain  of  my  pride, 

0  wondrous  evening  that  shelters  me  from  the 
burden  and  heat  of  my  selfish  care,  O  rest  of 
love  that  means  the  awakening  of  all  that  is 
noble,  it  is  worth  while  to  be  brought  down  that 

1  may  repose  in  thee. 


XXXI. 

Ube  ]£levation  of  tbe  Spirit 

"  And  the  Spirit  entered  into  me  and  set  me  upon  my  feet,  that  I 
heard  him  that  spake  unto  nie." — EzEK.  ii.  2. 

EXALTATION  must  precede  revelation. 
I  will  not  hear  the  words  of  Him  that 
speaks  to  nie  if  my  soul  is  grovelling 
in  the  dust.  Before  I  can  hear  Him  the  Spirit 
must  set  me  en  my  feet,  must  cause  me  to  stand 
upright,  must  impress  me  with  the  dignity  of 
being  a  man.  Consider,  my  soul,  when  is  it 
that  thou  hearest  most  clearly  the  voice  of  duty  ? 
Is  it  not  when  thou  art  most  conscious  of  thine 
own  responsibility,  most  alive  to  thine  own 
deathless  greatness?  It  is  when  thou  standest 
on  thy  feet  in  the  sense  of  immortalit}'  that  thou 
art  most  inspired  by  the  message  of  revelation. 
Before  all  things  the  Spirit  must  lift  thee  up, 
raise  thee  into  the  level  of  the  sunbeams.  It  is 
in  vain  that  the  mirror  exists  in  the  room  if  it  is 
lying  on  its  face ;  the  sunbeams  cannot  reach  it 
until  its  face  is  upturned  to  them.  Even  so  is 
it  with  thee,  my  soul.      Heaven  lies  about  thee 


'THE  ELEVATION  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  79 

not  only  in  thine  infancy,  but  at  all  times.  \li\t 
it  is  not  enough  that  a  place  is  prepared  for 
thee;  thou  must  be  prepared  for  the  place.  It 
is  not  enough  that  thy  light  has  come  ;  thou  as 
the  Prophet  says  must  arise  thyself  and  shine. 
No  outward  shining  can  reveal  unless  thou  art 
thyself  a  reflector  of  its  glory.  Nature  cannot 
charm  thee  if  thou  art  not  already  happy. 
Society  cannot  delight  thee  if  thou  art  not 
already  social.  Goodness  cannot  gladden  thee 
if  thou  art  not  already  good.  If  thou  wouldst 
see  thy  Father  running  to  meet  thee,  thou  must 
first  say  within  thyself,  "  I  will  arise  and  go  to 
my  Father."  What  thy  Father  runs  to  meet  is 
thy  separation,  thy  want,  thy  need.  He  comes 
to  thee  because  thou  canst  not  live  without  Him, 
and  the  moment  thou  feelest  that  thou  canst  not. 
He  waits  until  thou  art  dissatisfied  with  the 
swine-husks,  until  thou  art  weary  of  riotous 
living,  until  thou  hast  lifted  thine  eyes  out  of 
the  miry  clay  ;  and  then  He  flies  to  greet  thee 
with  the  ring  and  the  robe.  When  the  Spirit  has 
set  thee  on  thy  feet  thou  shalt  hear  the  words  of 
thy  Father. 


XXXII. 

TIbe  IRctrospect  of  tbe  Spirit 

"Then  the  Spirit  took  (R.  V.  lifted)  me  up,  and  I  heard  behind 
me  a  voice  of  a  great  rushing,  faying,  Blessed  be  the  glory  of  the 
Lord  from  His  place." — Ezek.  iii.  12. 


HEN    the   Spirit   lifts  me  up   I   hear   the 


¥K7}v  "^oi^^  of  blessings  behind  me.  From 
the  place  of  my  spiritual  elevation 
I  see  the  glory  of  the  things  1  have  passed  by. 
My  past  life  looks  resplendent  in  the  light  of 
the  new  present.  When  I  saw  it  in  advance  it 
seemed  dark,  but  the  moment  it  becomes  a  retro- 
spect, the  moment  it  lies  behind  me  in  the  light 
of  a  higher  experience,  I  see  it  to  have  been  the 
best  thing  possible,  I  say  of  it,  "  Blessed  be  the 
glory  of  the  Lord." 

Spirit  divine,  reveal  to  me  the  glory  of  the 
things  behind  me,  teach  me  the  providence  of 
the  events  that  have  gone  by.  I  trusted  Thee 
while  they  were  gohig  by  ;  I  was  content  to  walk 
by  faith  ;  I  murmured  not.  But  faith  is  not 
Tliy  goal  for  mc  ;  it  is  sight.  It  is  not  enough 
that  1  should  feel  Thee  to  be  my  king ;   I  must 


THE  RETROSPECT  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  Si 

see  the  king  in  his  bcanty.  It  is  not  enough 
that  I  should  experience  Thy  strength  in  the 
wilderness ;  the  wilderness  must  be  made  to 
blossom  as  the  rose.  It  is  not  enough  that  an 
angel  should  support  me  in  Gethsemane  ;  Geth- 
semane  itself  must  be  glorified  in  the  light  of 
Olivet.  I  have  not  asked  to  trace  Thee  while 
Thy  chariot  wheels  were  passing ;  but  now  that 
they  are  past,  O  Spirit,  let  me  see  Thy  face. 
Let  me  see  Thee  as  Jacob  saw  Thee  at  Peniel  — 
as  a  vindication  of  his  struggle,  as  an  explanation 
of  his  grief.  Let  me  see  Thee  as  Saul  saw 
Thee  at  Tarsus — sending  the  future  sunshine  in 
the  disguise  of  present  darkness.  Let  me  see 
Thee  as  John  saw  Thee  at  Patmos — revealing 
that  the  clouds  of  life  were  themselves  but  modes 
of  Thy  coming.  I  shall  not  weep  for  the  de- 
pression of  the  passing  hour,  if  only  when  the 
time  of  Thine  uplifting  comes,  I  shall  see  behind 
me  the  glory  of  the  Lord. 


XXXIII. 

XLbc  Compulsion  of  tbc  Spirit, 

"  So  the  Spirit  lifted  me  up,  and  took  me  away,  and  I  went  In 
bitterness,  in  the  heat  of  my  spirit ;  but  the  hand  of  the  Lord  was 
strong  upon  me." — Ezek.  iii.  14. 

^^^"^  OD'S  Spirit  often  leads  me  against  the 
^^^fl  ^'^^  °^  ^^^^  spirit ;  I  go  in  bitterness 
^^^'"*'^  in  obedience  to  the  pressure  of  a 
mightier  Hand.  How  often  do  I  say  "  a  sense 
oi  duty  compels  me."  It  is  a  wonderful  con- 
fession that  there  is  something  in  me  which 
is  higher  than  myself,  something  which  uses  me 
as  an  instrument,  which  commands  me  as  a 
servant.  How  many  places  have  I  visited  as 
a  sacrifice  just  because  I  ought  to  go  ;  and  how 
many  times  have  I  reaped  from  the  sacrifice  an 
unlooked-for  harvest  !  I  went  in  bitterness,  in 
the  heat  of  the  spirit,  in  enforced  submission  to 
the  call  of  right,  and  I  found  in  the  scene  of  my 
expected  torment  the  turning-point  of  my  destiny; 
under  the  dust-heap  was  gold. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  I  thank   Thee  that  Thy  love 
constraineth  me.     I  thank  Thee  that  in  the  trreat 


THE  COMPULSION  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  83 

labyrinth  of  life  Thou  waitest  not  for  my  consent 
to  lead  me.  I  thank  Thee  that  Thou  leadcst  me 
by  a  way  which  I  know  not,  by  a  way  which  is 
above  the  level  of  my  poor  understanding.  I 
thank  Thee  that  Thou  art  not  repelled  by  my 
bitterness,  that  Thou  art  not  turned  aside  by  the 
heat  of  my  spirit.  There  is  no  force  in  this 
universe  so  glorious  as  the  force  of  Thy  love  ;  it 
compels  me  to  come  in.  It  binds  me  with  golden 
fetters,  it  draws  me  with  silver  cords.  O  divine 
servitude,  O  slavery  that  makes  me  free,  O  love 
that  imprisons  me  only  to  set  my  feet  in  a  larger 
room,  enclose  me  more  and  more  within  thy  folds. 
Shut  me  in  against  myself — against  my  own 
bitterness,  against  the  heat  of  my  spirit.  Protect 
me  from  the  impetuous  desires  of  my  nature — • 
desires  as  short-lived  as  they  are  impetuous. 
Ask  me  not  where  I  would  like  to  go  ;  tell 
me  where  to  go ;  lead  me  in  Thine  own  way  ; 
hold  me  in  Thine  own  light.  I  may  go  in  the 
bitterness  of  my  soul,  I  may  journey  in  the  heat 
of  my  spirit,  but  I  shall  reach  the  paths  of 
pleasantness  if  the  hand  of  my  God  be  upon  me. 


XXXIV. 

Zhc  XoncUness  of  the  Spirit. 

"Then  the  Spirit  entered  into  me,  and  set  me  upon  my  feet,  and 
said  unto  me,  Go,  shut  thyself  within  thine  house." — EzEK.  iii.  24. 


my  nouse.  1  leel  my; 
amidst  a  crowd.  It  is  not  that  I  am  ushered 
into  new  scenes  ;  it  is  that  the  old  scenery  yields 
a  new  result.  Yesterday  I  was  quite  filled  by 
them  ;  to-day,  even  while  in  contact  with  them, 
I  am  miles  beyond  them.  Is  not  this  a  hard 
price  to  pay  for  being  a  Christian  ?  Why  should 
the  Spirit  of  Christ  bring  me  this  asceticism, 
Avhy  should  it  shut  me  up  within  my  own  house  ? 
Why  indeed  ?  Think  you  the  Spirit  desires 
such  a  solitude  ?  Think  you  the  Son  of  Man 
would  not  have  been  glad  if  He  could  have 
trodden  the  winepress  in  company  instead  of 
alone?  Think  you  that  the  goal  of  the  Spirit  is 
anything  else  than  communion  with  humanity, 
that  the  will  of  the  Spirit  is  anything  else  than 
the  attainment  of  this  sroal  ?      Do  not  blame  the 


THE  LONELINESS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  85 

Spin'/  that  its  entrance  into  thy  heart  makes  thee 
solitary  ;  it  is  the  world  that  thou  shouldst  blame. 
The  Spirit  longs  to  be  in  every  house  as  well  as 
in  thine.  As  long  as  it  is  shut  up  within  thy 
house  it  is  a  spirit  in  prison,  and  it  makes  //lee 
a  spirit  in  prison.  It  pants  to  share  itself 
with  the  world,  and  its  panting  becomes  thy 
thirst.  Its  solitude  is  its  cross ;  so  is  thine, 
O  my  soul.  Thy  house  is  not  thy  home  ;  thy 
home  is  the  house  of  humanity.  Thine  isolation 
is  but  for  a  moment,  and  shall  melt  in  the 
brotherhood  of  man.  When  it  pleases  God  to 
reveal  His  Son  in  thee,  immediately  thou  com- 
munest  not  with  flesh  and  blood  ;  but  it  is  only 
immediately,  not  ultimately.  Thou  shalt  not 
linger  for  ever  in  Arabia  ;  thou  shalt  return  to 
Damascus,  to  Jerusalem,  to  Rome.  Thou  shalt 
not  dwell  for  ever  in  Patmos  ;  the  time  will  come 
when  there  shall  be  no  more  sea.  It  is  only  at 
the  grey  dawn  of  morning  that  the  Spirit  says 
*'  Shut  thyself  within  thine  house." 


XXXV. 

TLbc  Spirit:  tbc  jfasbion  of  tbe 
TFlew  Uqc, 

"And  it  shall  come  to  pass  afterward  that  I  will  pour  out  my 
Spirit  upon  all  flesh ;  and  your  sons  and  your  daughters  shall 
prophesy,  your  old  men  shall  dream  dreams,  your  young  men 
shall  see  visions  :  and  also  upon  the  servants  and  upon  the  hand- 
maids in  those  days  will  I  pour  out  my  Spirit," — JOEL  ii.  28,  29. 

^A^i^ND  so  the  Spirit  is  at  last  to  become 
^m]%\  worldly,  to  be  poured  out  upon  all 
^'^^^  flesh.  I  am  told  that  the  fashion  of 
this  world  passeth  away  ;  but  into  what  does  it 
pass  ?  Into  another  fashion — the  fashion  of  the 
Spirit.  There  is  a  time  coming  when  there  shall 
be  no  such  word  as  secular.  There  is  a  time 
coming  when  the  Spirit  shall  claim  not  only  the 
churches  but  the  streets  and  openings  of  the 
gates,  not  only  the  feebleness  of  old  age  but 
the  visions  of  youth,  not  only  the  gravity  of 
fathers  but  the  mirth  of  sons  and  daughters,  not 
only  the  service  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  but  the 
domestic  service  in  the  houses  of  men. 


THE  SPIRIT;  THE  FASHION  OF  THE  NEW  AGE.   87 

Thou  divine  Spirit,  we  long  for  this  hour  of 
Thine.  Thine  incarnation  is  not  complete  until 
Thou  hast  touched  the  lowest  earth.  It  is  not 
enough  that  Thou  shouldst  be  a  joy  forever ; 
Thou  must  be  a  universal  joy.  It  is  not  enough 
that  Thou  art  beautiful  on  the  mountains  ;  Thou 
must  be  resplendent  in  the  valley.  Thy  triumph 
is  the  conquest  of  my  lesser  moments,  the  moments 
which  I  call  secular.  I  consecrate  to  Thee  the 
walls  of  my  temple,  but  I  have  never  consecrated 
to  Thee  the  walls  of  my  dwelling  ;  I  have  never 
consecrated  to  Thee  the  streets  of  my  native 
city.  The  exchange  is  unconsccrated,  the  countr 
ing-house  is  unconsecrated,  the  workshop  is 
unconsccrated.  The  scenes  of  my  pleasure  are 
outside  of  Thee  ;  the  trifles  of  my  life  are  apart 
from  Thee ;  I  have  not  yet  suffered  Thee  to 
"  fill  all  things."  I  limit  Thee  bj'  too  much 
magnifying  Thee.  I  fear  to  degrade  Thee  by 
bringing  Thee  down  to  the  plain ;  I  give  Thee 
my  spirit  but  not  my  flesh.  But  Thou  art  not 
content  with  my  spirit.  Thou  claimest  the  right 
to  empty  Thyself  into  my  impotence.  Thou 
desirest  again  to  come  in  my  flesh — to  fill  with 
Thy  presence  my  Canas  and  my  Nazareths  and 
my  Bethanies — to  glad  my  marriage  feasts  and 
help  my  receipts  of  custom  and  light  my  house- 
hold fires.  Thy  progress  like  the  sun  is  a 
progress    downward ;     Thy     beginning     is    the 


83   THE  SPIRIT:  THE  FASHION  OF  THE  NEW  AGE. 

mountain  but  Thy  climax  is  the  dusty  plain. 
The  shepherds  again  shall  sing  their  "  Glory 
in  the  highest "  when  Thy  life  shall  be  poured 
"  upon  all  flesh." 


XXXVI. 
Ube  Dictor\?  of  the  Spunt. 

"  Not  by  might  nor  by  power,  but  by  my  Spirit,  saith  the  Lord  of 
Hosts." — Zech.  iv.  6. 

g]g|HE  Spirit  of  the  Lord  of  Hosts  is  here 
I  di.stinguished  from  might  and  power, 
*  and  rightly  so.  The  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
ot  Hosts  is  love — the  sacrifice  of  might  and 
power.  The  world  has  been  made  great  by  the 
gentlest  of  all  its  forces.  Man  had  no  dominion 
over  the  beast  of  the  field  until  the  advent  of 
love.  The  animal  raged  within  him  unsubdued 
until  the  Christ  came.  Thunder,  earthquake,  and 
fire  strove  in  vain  to  quell  it  ;  it  yielded  only  to 
the  still  small  voice.  .  The  Jew  proposed  the 
terrors  of  the  law  ;  the  philosopher  advised  the 
crucifixion  of  feeling ;  neither  could  suppress 
the  passions  of  the  soul.  But  when  love  came, 
it  conquered  the  old  passions  by  a  new  passion. 
It  sent  not  thunder  but  lightning.  It  forbade 
nothing,  it  crucified  nothing,  it  destroyed  nothing  ; 
it  simply  flashed  on  me  the  light  of  a  new  pre- 
sence and  the  old  presence  died.      There  was  no 


90  THE  VICTORY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

mutilation  of  the  heart,  there  was  no  destruction 
of  the  heart's  ancient  possessions  ;  there  was 
just  a  transcendent  glory  which  made  the  ancient 
possessions  valueless  ;  they  were  destroyed  "  by 
the  brightness  of  His  coming." 

O  Son  of  Man,  let  my  lower  nature  be  con- 
quered by  Thy  Spirit.  I  would  not  have  it 
conquered  by  the  terrors  of  law ;  these  would 
bind  my  hands,  but  would  leave  my  heart  at  war. 
I  would  not  have  it  conquered  by  the  death  of 
feeling  ;  that  would  save  me  from  stepping  into 
evil  by  depriving  me  of  the  power  to  walk  at 
all.  But  I  would  have  it  conquered  by  Thee — 
a  larger,  purer  love.  I  would  have  Thy  beauty 
to  extinguish  all  other  beauties,  Thy  light  to  put 
out  all  other  lights,  Thy  joy  to  dwarf  all  other 
joys.  I  do  not  want  to  be  converted  by  mutila- 
tion but  by  expansion  ;  I  do  not  w'ant  to  be 
made  good  by  being  narrowed  but  by  being- 
enlarged.  Nothing  but  a  higher  love  will  sub- 
due my  lower  love — subdue  it  without  killijig  it. 
Might  and  power  would  reduce  it  to  ashes  in 
a  moment,  but  my  heart  would  be  ashes  too. 
Thou  alone  canst  preserve  my  heart  and  yet 
burn  its  sin,  Thou  alone  canst  enlarge  my  nature 
and  yet  destroy  its  impurities.  Thou  alone  canst 
subdue  my  will  and  yet  sustain  its  resoluteness  ; 
not  by  might  nor  by  pov.er  but  by  Thy  Spirit, 
O  Lord. 


XXXVII. 

trbe  Spirit  as  in  Cbrist. 

"And,  lo,  the  heavens  were  opened  unto  him,  and  he  saw  the  Spirit 
of  God  descending  lilce  a  dove,  and  lighting  upon  Him.  " 

— Matt.  iii.  i6. 

|v)i^t1IIE  New  Testament  like  the  Old  begins 
ij?^p5^(  with  the  Spirit.  Yet  there  is  a  clilfer- 
■f^^rsii^  ence  in  their  beginnings.  The  Spirit 
of  the  Old  Testament  comes  out  trom  the  dark- 
ness ;  it  has  to  form  the  light  by  wliich  we  are 
to  see  it.  But  the  Spirit  of  the  New  comes 
from  light  already  created  ;  it  descends  from  the 
opened  heavens.  The  Spirit  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment moves  on  the  face  of  troubled  waters  ;  the 
Spirit  of  the  New  alights  and  reposes  on  the 
calm  bosom  of  the  Son  of  Man.  No  wonder 
the  Spirit  of  the  New  Testament  is  like  a  dove  ; 
it  has  itself  found  peace  in  the  heart  of  its  own 
creation  ;  it  has  reached  in  the  soul  of  Jesus  its 
Sabbath  of  rest. 

Spirit  divine,  we  are  glad  that  Thou  hast 
found  rest.  Long  hast  Thou  waited  to  find  it 
on  the  bosom  of  Thy  creation.     The  earth  could 


THE  SPIRIT  AS  IN  CHRIST. 


nut  give  it,  the  sea  could  not  give  it  ;  the  plant 
could  not  give  it,  the  beast  of  the  field  could  not 
give  it.  For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  Thou 
hadst  found  it  in  the  Eden  of  humanity,  but  the 
dream  faded  ;  there  was  no  love  there  sacrificial 
enough  to  meet  Thy  love.  And  so  Thy  way 
was  still  through  the  sea  and  Thy  path  through 
the  deep — trackless,  homeless,  friendless.  But 
now  at  last  Thou  hast  found  a  home.  There  has 
come  a  pure  soul  worthy  of  Thy  habitation  and 
Thou  hast  entered  in.  Thou  beholdest  at  length 
the  mirror  of  Thyself,  the  image  of  Thy  beauty, 
the  reflex  of  Thy  love.  Thou  receivest  at  length 
the  joy  of  communion — a  joy  that  hitherto  Thou 
hast  given  but  never  shared.  Thou  hast  broken 
at  length  the  solitude  of  unequalled  greatness 
and  hast  found  the  man  that  is  Thy  fellow. 
Heaven  and  earth  have  met  together  and  the 
middle  wall  of  partition  is  destroyed  that  made 
Thy  heart  so  long  alone.  Well  mayest  Thou 
come  in  the  form  of  a  dove,  for  Thou  hast  found 
the  olive  branch  of  peace  ;  the  Son  of  Man  hath 
given  Thee  rest. 


XXXVIII. 

TEbe  Expulsive  power  of  tbe  Spirit, 

"  But  if  I  cast  out  devils  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  then  the  kingdom  of 
God  is  come  unto  you." — Matt.  xii.  28, 

f^'^P^T  is  no  proof  of  being  in  God's  kingdom 

tM  ^M  ^^'^^  ^  ^^^  ^^  ^^^^  from  some  of  his 
f<^^^^  past  vices.  It  is  not  enough  that  the 
devils  should  be  cast  out ;  they  must  be  cast  out 
by  Christ's  Spirit.  Other  things  than  that  can 
c.xpel  them.  A  man  may  lose  his  passions  by 
becoming  cold,  he  may  grow  dead  to  temptation 
by  growing  dead  altogether.  There  are  two 
kinds  of  calm  in  the  moral  world  ;  there  is  a 
calm  of  summer  heat,  and  there  is  a  calm  of  ice- 
bound winter.  Both  have  expelled  from  their 
seas  the  demon  of  the  storm,  but  from  how 
different  a  cause  1  The  one  peace  has  come 
from  nature's  fulness,  the  other  from  nature's 
barrenness ;  the  one  from  the  warmth  of  love, 
the  other  from  the  paralysis  of  selfishness. 

Son  of  Man,  it  is  by  Thy  Spirit  alone  that  I 
wish  my  demons  to  be  expelled.  I  would  not 
be  freed  from  vice  by  being  freed  from  impulse ; 


94      THE  EXPULSIVE  POV/ER  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

I  would  not  be  made  pure  by  being  made  an 
icicle.  I  would  be  pure  as  Thou  art  pure — not 
by  receiving  less  life,  but  by  getting  more.  I 
would  be  holy  as  Thou  art  holy — not  by  diminish- 
ing the  impulses  of  nature,  but  by  the  over- 
mastering strength  of  one  impulse — Love.  Love, 
more  love,  Thy  love,  it  is  that  that  I  want — not 
life  made  feebler  or  more  inert,  but  life  more 
abundantly,  Life  Eternal.  I  pray  that  my  flight 
from  temptation  be  not  in  the  winter— not 
prompted  by  mere  iceboundness,  mere  inability 
to  feel.  I  pray  that  my  flight  may  be  in  the 
summer  of  Thy  love,  that  I  may  be  tempted  from 
evil  by  the  very  temptation  to  goodness.  Sin  is 
a  spirit  and  spirit  can  only  be  conquered  by 
spirit.  The  expulsion  of  Satan  from  my  heart 
is  worthless  if  he  be  not  expelled  by  Thee. 
Come  into  my  heart,  Thou  Love  unspeakable, 
and  put  Thy  chains  about  him,  and  lead  him 
captive  at  Thy  will ;  if  Thy  Spirit  shall  cast  him 
out,  I  shall  know  that  the  kingdom  has  come. 


XXXIX, 

Zhc  Spirit'5  BMace  In  /IDissionar^ 
pccacbino. 

"Go  yc  ihereforc  and  tench  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in  the  name 
of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 

—Matt,  xxviii.  ig. 

trt^^'^^HREE  things  there  are  which,  each  in 
j^jj  m§  their  turn,  have  been  the  worship  of 
^^^•-^  the  nations — the  form  of  nature,  the 
form  of  man  and  the  life  which  has  no  form. 
There  are  some  who  have  reverenced  nature  and 
called  it  the  Father  ;  there  are  some  who  have 
reverenced  human  beings  and  called  them  Sons 
of  God  ;  there  are  some  who  have  reverenced  the 
hidden  life  of  the  universe  and  called  it  the 
Divine  Spirit.  Christ  says  that  the  true  worship 
must  be  a  baptism  into  the  character  of  all  the 
three.  He  cries  across  the  mission-field  to  the 
nations  seeking  light,  "  O  ye  that  hold  the  truth 
in  fragments,  come  and  behold  these  fragments 
united  in  a  single  temple.  Come  and  see  your 
rival  creeds  reconciled  and  blended  in  one 
religion.      Come   and    recognise    that    the   faith 


96    SPIRITS  PLACE  IN  MISSIONARY  PREACHING. 

which  you  profess  is  not  perfect  till  it  is  joined 
with  the  faith  professed  by  your  brother.  Within 
this  temple  of  mine  you  and  your  brother  can 
meet  side  by  side.  Within  this  temple  of  mine 
the  three  corners  of  all  worship  are  sanctified — 
the  world  above,  the  world  around,  and  the  world 
within.  Here  stand  the  children  of  the  Father 
— those  who  worship  the  stars  of  heaven.  Here 
stand  the  children  of  the  Son — those  who  rever- 
ence the  heroes  of  humanity.  Here  stand  the 
children  of  the  Spirit — those  who  bow  down  before 
the  mystery  of  universal  life.  You  will  lose 
nothing  in  my  temple  of  your  own ;  you  will 
only  add  your  brother's  to  your  own.  You  will 
learn  a  new  lesson  in  my  temple — the  lesson  of 
charity.  You  and  your  brother  shall  for  the 
first  time  worship  together  ;  ye  shall  be  no  more 
twain,  but  one  flesh.  Ye  shall  not  call  one 
another  idolaters  when  ye  shall  see  that  each 
completes  the  other,  that  within  my  sacred 
Pantheon  there  is  a  place  for  all.  The  Presence 
in  the  sky,  and  the  Presence  in  the  soul,  and  the 
Great  Presence  everywhere  that  can  be  felt  but 
never  seen  shall  be  united  in  one  glory,  and  all 
flesh  shall  worship  it  together — the  Father  of  an 
Infinite  Majesty,  His  honourable,  true,  and  only 
Son,  also  the  Holy  Ghost  the  Comforter." 


XL. 

ITbc  iPnrpose  of  tbe  Spirit's  JOlcssino* 

"And  immediately  t!io  Spirit  drivcth  Him  into  the  wilderness." 

— Mark  i.  13. 

^i^l^^T  seemed  a  strange  proof  of  divine  favour. 
i$  Wt  "inimediatcly,"  immediately  after  what ? 
fv,^yv>»«»  After  the  opened  heavens  and  the  dove- 
like peace  and  the  voice  of  a  Father's  blessing, 
**  Thou  art  my  beloved  Son,  in  whom  1  am  well 
pleased.'  It  is  no  abnormal  experience.  Thou 
too  hast  passed  through  it,  O  my  soul.  Are  not 
the  times  of  thy  deepest  depression  just  the 
moments  that  follov/  thy  loftiest  flight  ?  Yester- 
day thou  v/ert  soaring  far  in  the  firmament  and 
singing  in  the  radiance  of  the  morn  ;  to-day  thy 
wings  are  folded  and  thy  song  is  silent.  At 
noon  thou  wert  basking  in  the  sunshine  of  a 
Father's  smile ;  at  eve  Thou  art  saying  in  the 
v;ilderness  "  M}'  way  is  hid  from  the  Lord." 
Nay,  but,  my  soul,  the  very  suddenness  of  the 
change  is  a  proof  that  it  is  not  revolutionary. 
Hast  thou  weighed  the  comfort  of  that  word 
"  immediately  "  ?      Why  does   it   come   so   soon 

G 


9S     THE  PURPOSE  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  BLESSING. 

after  the  blessing?  Just  to  show  that  it  is  the 
sequel  of  the  blessing.  What  was  that  in  Jesus 
with  which  the  Father  was  well  pleased  ?  It 
was  the  vision  of  what  was  to  come,  the  vision 
of  where  the  Spirit  would  drive  Him.  The 
Father  saw  that  the  dove-like  peace  which  had 
fallen  on  the  Son  of  Man  would  make  Him  fit 
for  the  wilderness  ;  He  blessed  Him  for  what  He 
would  be  able  to  bear.  The  shining  on  the 
banks  of  Jordan  was  the  hour  of  His  adoption, 
but  the  wilderness  was  the  hour  of  His  in- 
heritance. Is  it  not  ever  so  ?  God  shines  on 
thee  to  make  thee  fit  for  life's  desert-places — • 
for  its  Gethsemanes,  for  its  Calvaries.  He  lifts 
thee  up  that  He  may  give  thee  strength  to  go 
further  down  ;  He  illuminates  thee  that  He  may 
send  thee  into  the  night,  that  He  may  make 
thee  a  help  to  the  helpless.  Not  at  all  times  art 
thou  worthy  of  the  wilderness  ;  thou  art  only 
worthy  of  the  wilderness  after  the  splendours  of 
Jordan.  Nothing  but  the  Son's  vision  can  fit 
thee  for  the  Spirit's  burden  ;  only  the  glory 
of  the  baptism  can  support  the  hunger  of  the 
desert 


XLI. 

Zhc  Comtort  ot  tbe  Spirit. 

"And  it  was  revealed  unto  him  by  the  Holy  Ghost,  that  ho 
should  not  see  death  before  lie  had  seen  the  Lord's  Christ." 

— Luicii  ii.  26. 

MiT^tiMAT  is  a  symbol  of  what  the  Spirit 
y,'-^  [l^'l  always  reveals.  It  never  tells  me 
t<^i^-j^  vvhat  is  false  to  nature.  It  does  not 
say  that  I  shall  be  exempted  from  the  common 
lot  of  man.  It  does  not  promise  that  I  shall 
not  see  death.  It  says  that  I  shall  not  see 
death  until  I  have  seen  something  else  that  will 
make  death  indiilerent  to  me.  I  am  not  to  be 
freed  from  the  calamities  of  other  men  ;  I  am 
not  to  expect  such  freedom.  But  I  am  to 
expect  that  in  my  case  these  calamities  shall  be 
preceded  in  the  heart  by  another  visitor  who 
shall  meet  them  at  the  door  and  rob  them  of 
their  sting.  They  shall  open  the  door  with  the 
hands  of  Esau,  but  it  is  with  the  voice  of  Jacob 
that  they  shall  enter  in,  for  their  presence  shall 
be  anticipated  by  another  Presence  before  whose 
power  their  roughness  shall  be  smooth. 


THE  COMFORT  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


Spirit  divine,  reveal  this  light  to  me.  I  do 
not  ask  a  cure  from  without  ;  I  ask  a  remedy 
from  within.  I  claim  not  the  chariot  of  fire,  I 
beseech  Thee  only  for  the  rod  and  the  staff.  I 
pray  not  for  the  path  of  Howers  remote  from  the 
dwellings  of  human  care  ;  I  only  ask  that  ere 
I  tread  the  thorns  my  shoes  may  be  iron  and 
Hrass.  I  seek  not  to  build  my  tabernacle  on  a 
m  int  of  dazzling  light  while  the  multitude  toil 
a  d  fret  in  the  dark  valley  below  ;  I  only  desire 
ihe  strength  to  work  without  sense  of  toil  and 
to  serve  much  without  being  cumbered  by  the 
service.  Reveal  to  me  my  own  possibilities  of 
doing  and  of  bearing.  Help  me  to  meet  to-day 
the  things  that  I  feared  yesterday.  Give  n>e 
the  garment  of  praise  in  the  scenes  once  tra- 
versed with  the  spirit  of  heaviness.  I  shall  not 
fear  to  see  the  inevitable  valle}'  of  death,  if  ilrst 
I  sh:ill  behold  my  inmiurtality  in  the  face  of  the 
Lord's  Clirist. 


XLII. 

ZlK  iftre  of  t(3e  Sptiit. 

"He  shall  baptize  you  with  the  Holy  Ghost  and  with  fire." 

— Luke  iii.  16. 

^^^.HERE  is  a  fire  which  belongs  to  hell,  and 
^l^k  there  is  a  lire  which  belongs  to  heaven. 
*^^^^^^  When  Christ  came  He  baptized  every- 
thing into  His  own  service — even  fire.  It  was 
once  the  symbol  of  destruction,  the  mark  of 
divine  vengeance  ;  it  became  in  fiim  a  gift  of 
the  Holy  Ghost.  There  is  a  pain  which  only 
comes  to  those  outside  of  hell,  a  fire  which  is 
only  kindled  by  the  touch  of  the  Spirit.  Be  not 
dismayed  that  thy  baptism  has  not  brought  thee 
peace  ;  the  birthday  gift  of  God  to  thy  soul  must 
be  not  peace  but  war.  When  the  light  comes, 
must  it  not  reveal  the  squalor  of  thy  room  and 
the  meanness  of  thy  furniture  ?  As  long  as  it 
was  dark,  these  did  not  trouble  thee  ;  the  absence 
of  the  heavenly  fire  was  an  absence  of  pain. 
But  when  the  heavenly  fire  Hashed  into  the 
apartment  it  flashed  into  thy  soul  a  sublime 
discontent.      There  rose  within  thee  the  lunging 


THE  FIRE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


for  a  lovelier  dwelling-place,  for  a  house  with 
many  mansions  adorned  with  unsearchable  riches. 
The  vision  of  thine  old  self  became  terrible  to 
thee  ;  thine  hour  of  revelation  was  thine  hour  of 
condemnation  ;  the  light  that  came  from  heaven 
was  the  day  that  made  thee  poor. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  baptize  me  into  Thy  pain. 
Say  to  my  soul,  "  Enter  thou  into  the  pain  of 
thy  Lord."  Teach  my  soul  that  my  Lord's  pain 
is  the  only  road  to  ni}'  Lord's  joy.  Give  me  the 
greatest  of  all  Thy  gifts  —  the  love  that  weeps  for 
lovelessness.  Grant  nic  increasing  fellowship 
with  the  cross  of  the  Son  of  man.  I  would  not, 
like  Simon  of  Gyrene,  be  compelled  to  bear  His 
cross  ;  I  would  be  crucified  together  with  Him.  I 
would  leel  what  He  felt  when  He  beheld  the  city 
and  wept  over  it ;  I  would  bear  what  He  bore 
when  He  stood  in  the  garden  and  bowed  beneath 
the  weight  of  human  sin.  I  would  know  that  I 
am  like  Him  by  having  sympathy  with  His  tears. 
Let  me  too  be  saddened  with  the  sins  and  sorrows 
of  the  crowd  ;  let  me  too  be  burdened  with  the 
deeds  and  destinies  of  humanity.  I  shall  learn 
that  I  am  in  conmiunion  with  Him  vvhen  I  am 
baptized  with  the  pain  of  His  fire. 


XLIII. 

trbe  Spivit  in  (5a!ilce. 

"And  Jesus  returned  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit  into  Gali'ee." 

— Luke  iv.  14. 

I^^^^J^OME  thincrs  in  our  lives  look  like  meanint?- 
^^;^^  less  repetitions ;  we  seem  to  make  no 
*'^i^^^^^^^  progress  but  to  end  where  we  began. 
Jesus  returns  to  Galilee — returns  to  the  place 
of  His  obscurity,  the  place  of  His  toil.  Yet  the 
second  Galilee  is  very  different  from  the  first. 
To  the  eye  of  a  beholder  He  is  walking  amid  the 
old  scenes,  but  to  His  own  eye  they  are  all  new  ; 
He  has  "  returned  in  the  power  of  the  Spirit." 

Thou  divine  Spirit  that  didst  lead  the  Son  of 
man  back  to  His  first  home,  I  would  like  thus  to 
be  led  by  Thee.  I  would  like  to  retrace  the 
old  ground  with  Thy  new  life  in  my  heart. 
I  would  like  to  go  back  to  Galilee  under  the 
influence  of  Thy  power.  It  is  one  thing  to  be 
in  Galilee  before,  it  is  another  thing  to  be  in 
Galilee  after  the  foiling  of  the  tempter.  When 
I  return  to  the  world  with  Thy  power  it  is  no 
longer   the   same   woild   to   me;     I    can    meet   it 


I04  THE  SPIRIT  IN  GALILEE. 

without  fear.  Give  me  that  power,  O  Spirit. 
Fit  me  for  the  scenes  of  Galilee — the  old  scenes 
that  used  to  conquer  me.  Fit  me  for  the  marriage 
feast  of  Cana ;  ripen  me  for  the  daily  toil  of 
Nazareth.  Strengthen  me  to  meet  the  tempta- 
tions of  the  world  by  teaching  me  the  temptations 
of  the  wilderness.  Let  me  learn  in  the  wilder- 
ness that  my  dangers  come  not  from  Galilee  but 
from,  the  solitudes  of  my  own  soul.  Break  my 
solitude  with  Thine  own  presence.  Create  within 
me  Thy  divine  thirst  for  fellowship,  Thy  holy 
sense  of  brotherhood.  Teach  me  the  incomplete- 
ness of  my  life  in  the  wilderness.  Inspire  me 
with  the  enthusiasm  of  humanity — the  desire  to 
find  my  crown  in  carrying  another's  cross.  Lead 
me  from  the  hunger  for  my  own  daily  bread  into 
that  sympathy  with  others'  hunger  which  says 
"  Our  Father."  Then  indeed  may  I  go  back 
without  fear  and  without  reproach.  Galilee  shall 
open  its  gates  to  me  ;  life  shall  yield  her  treasures 
to  me ;  pleasure  shall  give  her  hand  to  me ;  the 
Mammon  of  past  unrighteousness  shall  be  a 
friend  to  me.  I  shall  return  to  Galilee  in 
triumph  when  I  come  "in  the  power  of  the 
Spirit." 


XLIV. 

tlbc  ipravcr  tor  the  Spirit 

"  If  ye  then,  being  evil,  know  how  to  give  good  gifts  unto  your 
children,  how  much  more  shall  your  heavenly  Father  give  the  Holy 
Spirit  to  them  that  ask  Him?" — Luke  xi.  13. 

|?^fEUCH  more;"  I  would  have  said  "much 
vi'^^lf  less."  Because  I  ask  and  receive  a 
3k=^.4«^ic  paltry  material  boon  from  a  frail  mortal, 
am  I  to  expect  that  I  shall  receive  for  the  asking 
the  Spirit  of  the  Almighty  tiiraself  ?  The  very 
suggestion  almost  takes  away  the  breath.  Yes, 
iny  brother,  but  you  are  startled  by  the  wrong 
end  of  the  ladder.  The  thing  to  be  f/ondered 
at  is  your  power  to  ask  for  such  a  boon.  Our 
prayers  are  always  the  measure  of  our  possibili- 
ties. No  man  can  aspire  beyond  the  range  of 
his  nature,  any  more  than  a  bird  can  fly  beyond 
the  compass  of  its  wings.  How  can  3'ou  ask  for 
God's  Spirit  except  through  the  lips  of  that  Spirit 
itself?  Flesh  and  blood  could  not  have  revealed 
to  thee  thy  want  of  it ;  only  thy  Father  which 
is  in  heaven.  Only  tliat  which  is  divine  can 
recognise  its  need  of  the  divine  ;   the   emptiness 


ic6  THE  PRAYER  FOR  THE  SPIRIT. 

tl'.at    cries    for    God    has    already    begun    to    Le 
iillLd. 

Holy  Spirit,  I  thirst  for  Thee,  as  in  a  dry 
parched  land  ;  I  pant  for  the  streams  of  Thy 
grace.  It  seems  almost  presumption  thus  to 
desire  Thee,  but  my  very  thirst  emboldens  me. 
How  could  I  thirst  for  Thee  if  Thou  vvert  not 
the  Spirit  of  my  Father  ?  How  could  I  desire 
Thee  if  there  were  not  already  in  me  the  same 
nature  as  Thine?  It  is  by  my  need  of  Thee 
that  I  know  my  kinship  with  Thee,  with  my 
P^ither.  I  have  no  argument  but  my  need,  no 
language  but  my  cry.  I  ask  for  Thee  because 
I  require  Thee,  and  I  require  Thee  because  I 
I  was  made  for  Thee.  The  prayer  that  beats 
against  the  doors  of  Thy  heaven  is  the  protest 
of  my  unfinished  nature  against  its  own  incom- 
pleteness ;  I  shall  only  be  complete  in  Thee. 
Come,  therefore,  and  finish  Thy  divine  creation. 
Thou  wilt  not  leave  me  in  the  sixth  morning 
amid  the  beasts  of  the  field.  Let  me  enter  into 
Thy  seventh  day,  into  thy  Sabbath  rest,  into 
Thine  Eden's  joy.  Thou  satisficst  the  want  of 
every  living  thing  just  because  its  need  gives  it 
a  right  to  live  ;  shall  not  my  thirst  for  Thee,  O 
Spirit  of  holiness,  give  me  also  a  right  to  the 
river  of  Thy  pleasures  ? 


XLV. 

TIbc  XIlnmca5urc^nc5S  of  tl:c  Spirit  in 
Cbvist. 

"  For  He  whom  God  hath  sent  speaketh  the  words  of  f'.od,  for  God 
givcth  not  the  Spirit  by  measure  unto  Him. "-John  iii.  34. 

■pT%pT  is  the  Baptist's  soliloquy  of  surprise. 
Mj'l^  He  is  looking  on  the  outpouring  of  the 
^l^^^■^'9  Spirit  on  Jesus  and  he  sees  something 
unique.  All  the  other  outpourings  of  the  Spirit 
had  been  limited— measured  by  the  needs  of  a 
special  time.  Great  men  had  been  raised  up 
with  powers  sufficient  to  do  a  particular  work, 
and  when  that  work  was  done  they  had  been 
called  "  the  ancients."  But  here  was  an  out- 
pouring on  a  single  soul  of  gifts  commensurate 
with  a/l  time  ;  God  gave  not  the  Spirit  by 
measure  unto  Him.  It  was  a  wonderful  vision, 
and  it  has  had  a  yet  more  wonderful  realisation. 
I  have  not  yet  found  the  measure,  the  limit  of 
tlie  gifts  of  Jesus.  They  are  as  much  adapted 
to  the  nineteenth  century  as  to  the  first.  The 
days  of  His  flesh  are  long  fled  and  have  left 
nothing    of    their   life    behind.      The    men    who 


inS  THE  UNMEASUREDNESS  OF 

Stood  beside  Him  have  become  but  monuments 
— grand  to  look  at,  but  powerless  to  act  or 
move.  Yet  here  He  stands,  a  living  presence 
still,  His  e3'e  undimmed.  His  natural  strength 
unabated.  The  flight  of  years  has  not  exhausted 
His  energies.  The  advent  of  new  thoughts  has 
not  tarnished  His  freshness.  The  change  in 
public  taste  has  not  marred  His  beauty.  The 
fading  of  past  theologies  has  not  diminished  His 
glory.  He  is  not  superannuated  by  time ;  He 
is  still  what  the  evangelist  of  old  called  Him, 
"Jesus  Christ  our  forerunner."  He  runs  before 
us ;  He  is  in  advance  of  us  ;  like  the  Star  of  the 
East  He  always  leads  the  way  ;  we  shall  never 
in  the  race  of  progress  come  up  to  His  measure- 
less glory. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  Thou  Star  of  the  East,  Thou 
forerunner  of  our  humanity,  lead  on.  We  are 
seeking  to  be  emancipated  from  the  trammels  of 
the  past ;  Thou  who  art  measureless,  lead  on. 
We  are  aspiring  to  be  free  from  temporary 
creeds  and  systems ;  Thou  who  art  limitless, 
lead  on.  Lead  us  to  all  things  that  cannot  be 
measured — the  peace  that  passeth  understanding, 
the  love  that  passeth  knowledge,  the  joy  that 
passeth  utterance.  Lead  us  to  the  fulness  of 
the  time,  the  brotherhood  of  man,  the  concord 
of  the  nations.  Lead  us  to  the  boundlessness 
of  hope,  the  endlessness  of  charity,  the  unstinted- 


TIIR  SPIRIT  IN  CHRIST.  109 

ncss  of  benevolence.  Lead  us  to  the  day  when 
every  valley  shall  be  exalted,  every  mountain 
brought  low,  every  rough  place  made  plain. 
When  we  arc  broadened  by  Thy  measureless 
Spirit  we  shall  reach  the  Promised  Land. 


XLVI. 

Zbc  Spirit's  olorification  of  Cbrist. 

"For  the  Holy  Ghost  was  not  yet  given  ;  because  that  Jesus  was 
not  yet  glorified." — John  vii,  39. 

I^OW  shall  I  know  whether  the  Holy  Ghost 
has  been  given  to  ine  ?  Is  there  any 
test  by  which  I  can  judge  of  its 
presence  or  absence  ?  The  passage  before  us 
says  that  there  is.  It  says  that  the  Holy 
Ghost  was  not  given  "  because  Jesus  was  not 
glorified."  The  proof  of  the  Spirit's  absence  is 
an  unglorified  Christ ;  the  proof  of  its  presence 
is  a  Christ  who  is  honoured.  My  soul,  hast  thou 
considered  this  test  of  the  Spirit  within  Thee  ? 
Thou  art  asking  often  anxiously  for  a  sign  of 
thy  union  with  the  Spirit.  Thine  outward. life 
lags  so  far  behind  that  it  often  seems  to  thee  as 
if  God  had  passed  thee  by.  Yet  in  these  words 
there  is  a  mine  of  rich  comfort  for  thee.  The 
first  test  of  the  Spirit  is  not  the  outward  life 
but  the  inward  ideal.  The  life  may  lag  behind, 
but  the  ideal  can  run  on  before  to  herald  its 
coming.      Thy    test  of  God  within   thee  is  the 


THE  SPIRIT  .;  GLORIFICATION  OF  CHRIST      ni 

question,  Is  Jesus  glorified  ?  Is  there  hung  up 
in  thy  heart  a  picture  of  the  sinless  One  ?  He 
may  be  far  yet  from  the  tread  of  thy  footsteps, 
but  is  His  image  in  thy  soul  ?  Hast  thou  in  the 
great  world  of  bustle  and  conflict  moments  of 
aspiration  towards  Him  ?  Are  there  times  in 
which  His  presence  flits  through  thy  spirit  and 
makes  thee  glad  ?  Are  there  seasons  in  which 
thou  saycst  to  thyself,  "Oh  to  be  like  Him  !  to 
be  near  Him  !  to  be  even  in  the  smallest  sense 
partaker  of  His  holiness!"  Then  within  thy 
heart  Jesus  is  already  glorified.  He  may  not 
yet  be  glorified  in  thy  ivorld ;  our  actions  travel 
slower  than  our  sentiments.  But,  if  already  He 
lives  thus  in  thine  aspirations,  He  has  had  His 
coronation  in  thy  heart.  The  heart  is  the  metro- 
polis of  His  empire;  crown  Him  there  and  thou 
hast  ensured  His  dominion  everywhere.  Art 
thou  following  Him  in  spirit?  Art  thou  desiring 
Him,  admiring  Him,  emulating  Him  ?  Art  thou 
making  him  an  ideal  which  thou  wouldst  like  to 
hope  for,  to  long  for,  to  strive  for?  Then  thou 
hast  the  test  of  the  Spirit.  Thou  couldst  not 
see  Him  as  He  is  \{  thou  wert  not  like  Him.  If 
thy  pulse  beats  quicker  at  His  presence,  it  is 
because  His  life  is  in  thee ;  the  Holy  Ghost 
must  have  been  given  thee,  because  Jesus  is 
glorified. 


XLVII. 

TLlyc  Spirit's  olontlcation  ot  tf>c  iDnat 

"  But  the  Comforter,  which  is  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  the  Father 
will  send  in  my  nnnie,  Ho  shall  teach  you  all  things,  and  bring  all 
things  to  your  remembrance,  whatsoever  I  have  said  unto  you." 

— John  xiv.  26. 

f-i^^^T  is  the  promise  of  a  retrospective  glory 
&>  Wi  — '^  glorification  of  the  past.  Christ 
f^i^^i'^  says  that  when  the  Spirit  comes  it 
will  quicken  old  memories.  Is  it  not  ever  so  ? 
Nothing  can  quicken  my  memory  but  the  spirit 
of  the  thing  remembered.  Why  is  it  that  I  re- 
member some  things  so  much  better  than  others  ? 
It  has  nothing  to  do  with  comparative  length 
of  time  ;  I  may  recollect  best  the  farthest  back 
incident.  It  depends  entirely  on  the  congruity 
of  my  spirit  with  the  thing  to  be  remembered. 
The  scene  which  has  best  suited  my  taste  will 
most  easily  be  recalled  by  my  memory.  My 
memory  depends  on  my  interest  and  my  interest 
is  proportionate  to  my  possession  of  a  kindred 
spirit.     Even  so  is  it  with  the  things  of  Christ. 


THE  SriRITS  GLORIFICATION  OF  THE  PAST.    113 

To  remember  them  I  must  sympathise  with  them. 
The  scenes  of  His  childhood  would  have  been 
forgotten  if  a  mother  had  r>ot  kept  them  in  her 
heart.  The  scenes  of  His  inner  hfe  would  have 
been  obhterated  if  a  John  had  not  treasured  them 
in  his  soul.  Inspiration  is  needed  even  for  the 
recalling  of  history  ;  it  is  the  Spirit  that  brings 
to  our  remembrance. 

Spirit  divine,  quicken  my  memory  of  Christ. 
I  often  lament  its  shortness  when  I  should  blame 
its  want  of  interest.  Create  within  me  a  deeper 
interest  and  I  shall  have  a  longer  memory.  In- 
spire me  with  the  glory  of  the  subject,  the  beauty 
of  the  theme,  the  grandeur  of  the  contemplation. 
Inspire  me  with  the  love  of  Him  who  speaks, 
with  the  admiration  of  Him  who  acts,  with  the 
devotion  to  Him  who  suflers.  Love  never  for- 
gets ;  its  past  is  ever  present ;  its  yesterday 
is  always  to-day.  Love  makes  every  memory 
say  "  Lo,  I  am  with  you  alway,  even  unto  the 
end  of  the  world."  Let  Thy  love  make  the  past 
a  present  to  me.  Let  it  bring  to  the  gates  of  my 
life  the  footsteps  of  the  Son  of  Man.  Let  it  make 
my  country  a  Palestine,  my  home  a  Nazareth, 
my  family  circle  a  Bethany,  my  temptation  a 
pinnacle  of  the  temple,  my  solitude  a  Trans- 
figuration, my  storm  a  Gcnnesaret,  my  cross  a 
Calvary,  my  crown  an  Olivet.  Let  it  preserve 
from  fading  the   Day-spring  from   on   high;   let 

H 


114   '-''HE  SPIRIT'S  GLORIFICATION  OF  THE  PAST. 

it  prevent  from  setting  the  star  that  rose  in 
Ijcthlchcm.  The  Gospel  story  shall  not  recede 
with  time  when  Thy  love  has  quickened  the 
memory  ox^  my  heart. 


XLVIIT. 

XLbc  IRoat)  to  tbe  Spirit's  peace. 

"  And  when  He  had  snici  this,  He  breathed  on  them,  and  saith  unto 
them,  Receive  ye  the  Holy  Ghost." — John  xx.  22, 


wM 


IHEN  He  had  said  this."  Said  what? 
|o\WM  You  will  find  it  in  the  previous  verse. 
s;a^3i=s  « Peace  be  unto  you  :  as  my  Father 
hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you."  It  was  not 
till  He  had  said  this  that  Christ  breathed  upon 
them.  Before  He  gave  them  the  gift  of  the 
Spirit's  peace  He  had  to  tell  them  the  kind  of 
peace  they  must  expect ;  otherwise  they  would 
have  been  disappointed.  He  had  to  tell  them 
that  His  peace  meant  what  the  world  calls  dis- 
peace — submission  to  a  sacrifice,  "as  my  Father 
hath  sent  Me,  even  so  send  I  you."  How  had 
the  Father  sent  Him  ?  From  the  height  to  the 
depths,  from  heaven  to  earth,  from  joy  to  tribula- 
tion, from  life  to  death.  The  peace  which  His 
Father  gave  Him  was  a  peace  that  could  descend 
the  valley,  a  peace  that  could  meet  the  darkness, 
a  peace  that  could  bear  the  cross.  Before  I  can 
receive  that  peace  1  must  be  prepared  for  it.     I 


iifi  THE  ROAD  TO  THE  SPIRIT'S  PEACE. 

must  learn  that  His  mission  is  to  be  my  mission 
too — not  the  life  of  luxurious  self-indulgence,  but 
the  beatitude  of  the  poor  in  spirit. 

Son  of  man,  I  shall  only  get  Thy  peace  by 
moving  in  Thy  sphere.  Thy  peace  came  to 
Thee  by  going  where  Thy  Father  sent  Thee, 
Thou  didst  not  get  it  first  and  then  go  into 
Gethsemane  ;  it  was  in  Gethsemane  Thou  didst 
find  it.  It  came  to  Thee  by  doing  the  Father's 
will,  came  through  persistent  struggle,  came  by 
determination  not  to  yield.  So  must  it  be  with 
me.  Thou  wilt  not  send  me  Thy  peace  until 
Thou  has  sent  myself  on  the  path  of  sacrifice ; 
Thy  Olivet  will  only  come  to  me  on  the  steps 
of  Thy  Calvary.  Thy  will  must  precede  Thy 
reward,  I  must  serve  Thee  ere  I  can  rejoice  in 
Thee.  Obedience  first,  then  liberty  ;  the  cross 
first,  then  the  crown  ;  the  wilderness  first,  then 
Ncbo ;  the  mission  of  sacrifice  first,  then  the 
breath  of  the  free  Spirit.  Thou  shalt  breathe 
Thy  peace  into  my  soul  when  Thou  hast  sent  me 
where  Thy  Father  sent  Thee. 


XLIX. 

Ubc  Pentecost  of  the  Spirit, 

"And  they  were  all  tilled  with  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  began  to 
speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit  gave  them  utluranee." 

—  Acts  ii.  4. 

^fSti^HE  great  advantage  of  the  Spirit  is  that  it 
gives  me  a  common  language.  lielore 
the  Spirit  comes  I  speak  in  my  own 
tongue  ;  I  cannot  interpret  the  language  of  my 
brother.  But  when  I  get  the  Spirit  I  get  the 
thing  called  sympathy — the  power  to  feel  with 
another.  The  only  language  which  I  can  speak 
in  common  with  another  is  the  language  of  the 
heart,  for  the  language  of  the  heart  is  the  only 
tongue  which  has  never  changed.  It  is  the 
same  yesterday  and  to-day  and  for  ever  ;  it  is 
the  speech  of  man  as  man.  If  I  can  only  get 
down  into  my  own  heart  I  have  reached  the 
base  of  universal  humanity;  for,  the  wants  of 
my  heart  are  the  wants  of  the  whole  world. 
Tiie  tower  of  Babel  was  an  act  of  pride  ;  it  was 
the  struggle  of  each  man  to  rise  above  his  fellow 
and    therefore    it    was    the    death    of  sympathy. 


Ii8  THE  PENTECOST  OF  THE  vSPIRIT. 

But  the  coming  of  the  Spirit  was  a  descent.  It 
was  a  leading  down  of  my  soul  into  the  depths 
of  its  own  need  and  therefore  it  was  an  entrance 
into  the  prayers  of  every  soul.  We  all  live  in 
the  experience  of  others  when  the  Spirit  comes. 
Spirit  divine,  outpour  Thy  Pentecost  on  me. 
Send  forth  that  rushing  mighty  wind  which 
shall  break  down  the  Babel  tower  of  my  own 
isolation.  Send  forth  that  fire  of  sympathy 
which  shall  burn  up  all  that  is  narrow  and  mean 
and  seliish  within  this  soul  of  mine,  and  shall 
give  me  the  right  and  the  power  to  enter  into 
the  soul  of  my  brother.  I  am  imprisoned  within 
myself  until  Thou  comest ;  I  can  speak  only  one 
language — the  language  of  selfishness.  But  thou 
canst  make  me  a  universal  linguist.  Thou 
canst  enable  me  to  understand  the  speech  of 
every  heart  by  giving  me  a  heart  of  my  own. 
Thou  canst  help  me  to  translate  the  wants  of 
others  into  my  own  experience  and  to  ask  "  How 
would  I  feel  in  their  place  ?  "  Evermore  indue 
me  with  this  divine  gift— a  gift  whose  glory  is 
its  pain,  whose  crown  is  its  cross.  Evermore 
giant  me  this  mirror  within — the  sympathy  that 
can  take  its  impressions  from  all  the  burdens 
that  are  passing  by.  When  Thou  shalt  give  me 
utterance  I  shall  speak  the  language  of  love. 


V\_J 


ZTbc  Spirit :  tbe  product  of  5ov?. 

*•  Therefore  being  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted,  and  having 
received  of  the  Father  the  promise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  He  hath  shed 
forth  this,  which  ye  now  see  and  hear." — Acts  ii.  33. 

^^^^EING  by  the  right  hand  of  God  exalted 


He  hath  shed  forth  this."  Why  did 
He  wait  till  He  was  exalted  ?  Why 
did  He  not  shed  forth  the  Spirit  from  the  shades 
of  Gethsemane  ?  It  is  because  no  man  can 
impart  his  spirit  in  the  hour  of  his  depression. 
In  the  hour  of  my  depression  my  spirit  is  crushed 
down  within  my  own  life  ;  it  cannot  get  out  from 
me.  Grief  is  not  contagious  ;  it  is  an  object  of 
pity,  but  it  is  not  an  object  of  desire.  But  joy 
is  contagious  ;  it  imparts  itself  to  others.  When 
the  weight  is  lifted  from  my  spirit  my  spirit 
itself  is  lifted.  My  own  being  becomes  too  small 
for  it.  It  breaks  the  boundaries  of  my  solitude 
and  begins  to  radiate  into  other  lives.  It  goes 
forth  from  me  spontaneously,  even  as  from  a 
bird  goes  forth  its  song.  It  becomes  an  atmos- 
phere around  me,  and  whatever  comes  near  me 


120         THE  SPIRIT:  THE  PRODUCT  OF  JOY. 

]ives  in  that  atmosphere.  When  the  insignificant 
nmstard  seed  becomes  a  glorious  tree  the  fowls 
of  the  air  lodge  in  the  branches  thereof.  My 
spirit  sheds  itself  forth  in  the  day  when  it  is 
exalted. 

Son  of  man,  I  know  now  the  meaning  of  the 
words  "  greater  works  than  these  shall  ye  do, 
because  I  go  unto  my  Father."  They  mean  that 
Thine  elevation  into  joy  makes  Thy  Spirit  more 
potent  over  humanity.  Thou  hast  ascended  up 
on  high  ;  Thou  hast  led  captivity  captive,  and 
therefore  the  captivity  of  Thine  own  Spirit  has 
been  led  captive.  It  has  burst  forth  from  the 
new  joy  of  Thy  life,  Thy  resurrection  joy.  Thy 
gladness  has  become  what  Thy  grief  could  not 
becomiC — contagious.  Humanity  was  afraid  to 
join  in  the  procession  to  Thy  cross,  but  it  has 
joined  with  rapture  in  Thy  Pentecostal  song. 
There  were  few  that  could  watch  with  Thee  in 
Thy  depression,  but  Thy  lifting  up  has  drawn  all 
men  to  Thee.  Thy  transfiguration  has  glorified 
Thy  life-long  death  which  was  completed  at 
Jerusalem  ;  it  has  ennobled  sorrow  ;  it  has  made 
the  cross  divine.  The  invitation  is  irresistible 
when  it  says  "  Enter  into  the  joy  of  Thy  Lord  ;  " 
it  is  from  Thine  exalted  heart  that  Thy  Spirit 
flows. 


LI. 

%nim  to  the  Sptrtt. 

"  But  Peter  said,  Ananias,  why  hath  Satan  fill<.-d  thine  heart  to  he 
to  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  to  keep  back  part  of  the  priee  of  tlie  land?" 

—Acts  v.  3. 

^I^^IE  to  the  Holy  Ghost,"  that  is  surely 
£1  fef|l  a  strange  phrase.  Why  docs  not 
^^^^^  Peter  say  that  Ananias  had  told  him- 
self a  lie  ?  Because  Ananias  had  not  done  so. 
His  was  not  a  spoken  but  an  acted  lie.  He  was 
not  doing  anything  which  the  world  would  have 
called  dishonourable.  In  honour  he  was  not 
bound  to  give  more  than  part.  True,  others 
were  giving  the  whole,  but  they  were  giving  it 
voluntarily.  Ananias  wanted  to  seem  like  other 
people  without  the  trouble  of  being  so.  He  tried 
to  come  in  with  the  stream  and  to  be  thought  a 
part  of  the  stream.  He  laid  down  the  money 
and  said  he  got  it  for  the  land,  and  that  was 
true.  It  was  the  truth  in  the  ears  of  men  but 
not  in  the  eye  of  the  Spirit.  The  thing  most 
visible  to  the  eye  of  the  Spirit  was  tlte  th'ng 
unrecorded  to  the  ears  of  men  ;   it  was  the  part 


LYING  TO  THE  SPIRIT. 


of  the  price  kept  back.  It  was  a  silent  falschooti, 
a  falsehood  where  there  was  no  speech  and  no 
language  ;  it  was  uttered  only  to  the  Holy 
Ghost. 

.,-^^pirit  of  truth,  there  are  some  untruths  that 
I  tell  only  to  Thee.  There  are  unspoken  false- 
hoods not  heard  by  the  ear  of  my  brother  man 
which  yet  are  audible  to  Thee.  Sometimes  I 
hear  one  maligned  whom  I  do  not  love.  I  know 
that  the  charge  is  untrue,  yet  because  I  do  not 
love  the  man  I  am  not  sorry  that  others  should 
not  love  him  ;  therefore  I  keep  silent.  I  think 
I  have  done  well  not  to  have  joined  in  the 
calumny,  but  to  Thine  ear  I  have  joined  in  it.  I 
have  kept  back  part  of  the  price  of  duty.  My 
silence  has  evaded  the  law  of  man,  but  it  has  lied 
unto  Thee.  O  Thou  divine  Spirit,  cleanse  me 
from  the  deceit  of  my  own  heart.  Reveal  to  me 
that  the  majesty  of  truth  is  seated  not  without 
but  within.  Reveal  to  me  that  it  is  not  enough 
that  my  charity  should  say  no  evil ;  it  must  not 
keep  back  the  good.  Reveal  to  me  that  there 
are  times  when  silence  is  not  golden,  when  silence 
is  the  absence  of  gold.  Lift  me  above  that  spirit 
of  detraction  which  fears  to  strike  but  has  not 
the  grace  to  succour.  Raise  me  above  the 
meanness  that  keeps  back  the  price  of  justice 
from  an  injured  foe.  I  shall  be  as  transparent  as 
the  day  when  I  have  spoken  the  truth  to  Thee. 


LIL 

trbe  Spirit's  Mitness  to  ©livct 

"  Him  hath  God  exalted  with  His  right  hand.  .  .  .  And  we  are 
His  witnesses  of  these  things  ;  and  so  is  also  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom 
God  hath  given  to  them  that  obey  Him." — ACTS  v.  31,  32. 

^^^^^ETER  says  that  the  inward  life  of  every 
x^  r^^?  Christian  repeats  the  experience  of  the 
's^^'^^*^  Master.  He  says  that  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  a  witness  of  Christ's  exaltation.  He  means 
that  in  the  process  of  the  Christian  life  His 
Spirit  leads  every  man  over  the  same  path  from 
depression  into  joy.  He  declares  that  God  has 
given  the  Spirit  to  them  that  obey  Him.  Is 
there  then  to  be  a  preliminary  period  in  which 
we  are  to  have  the  work  without  the  joy  ?  Yes. 
We  arc  not  all  at  once  to  get  the  Spirit — the 
freedom,  the  spontaneity,  the  gladness  of  the  life 
divine.  That  is  the  gift  of  the  summer,  but  the 
winter  and  the  spring  come  before  the  summer. 
The  Spirit  only  comes  after  obedience  has  come. 
We  must  be  content  at  first  to  have  the  subdued 
will.  We  must  consent  at  the  outset  to  go 
where  we  do  not  want  to  go — to  go  simply  be- 


124         THE  SPIRIT'S  WITNESS  TO  OLIVET. 

cause  our  Father  sends  us.  We  must  be  pre- 
pared for  some  time  to  inquire  in  God's  taber- 
nacle before  we  are  permitted  to  see  His  beauty. 
We  must  expect  like  the  Son  of  man  days  in 
which  we  shall  cry  "  I  thirst."  We  must  enter 
the  kingdom  by  the  strait  gate  of  obedience,  by 
the  valley  of  constraint,  by  the  door  on  which 
it  is  written,  "  Not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou  wilt.";.. 

Yet  be  still,  my  soul,  thy  joy  is  at  the  door ; 
after  obedience  the  Spirit  comes.  Thy  prayer 
shall  not  always  be,  "  not  as  I  will,  but  as  Thou 
wilt."  By-and-by  thy  will  shall  be  one  with 
the  will  of  thy  Father.  To-day  thou  art  taking 
the  cup  in  a  trembling  hand  ;  if  it  were  possible 
thou  wouldst  pass  it  from  thee.  But  to-morrow 
thy  hand  will  not  tremble  ;  thy  heart  will  not 
fail ;  thou  shalt  say,  "  I  and  my  Father  are  one." 
When  the  Spirit  comes  thou  shalt  walk  with 
God.  He  shall  no  longer  move  in  advance  of 
thee,  merely  directing  thy  w^ay  ;  thou  shalt  travel 
by  His  side  in  voluntary  fellowship.  He  shall 
no  longer  need  to  go  before  thee  into  Galilee, 
thou  shalt  thyself  accompany  Him  into  Galilee 
and  choose  for  thy  place  in  life  what  was  once 
the  shadow  of  death.  Thou  shalt  share  the 
exaltation  of  thy  Lord  when  thou  hast  carried 
His  cross  for  a  while  ;  when  thou  hast  bowed 
thy  head  and  given  up  thy  spirit  the  Spirit  of 
the  Hio'hest  shall  be  given  unto  thee. 


LIII. 

Zbc  Dision  ot  tbc  Spirit. 

"  Rut  he,  being  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  looked  up  steadfastly  into 
heaven,  and  saw  the  (jlory  of  God,  and  Jesus  standing  on  the  right 
hand  of  God. " — Acts  vii.  55. 

"^i^f^E,  bcinff  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  looked  up 
SiWllI  ^^^^  saw."  There  is  a  vision  which 
fe^iX — ,  only  comes  with  spiritual  fulness.  In 
the  world  of  nature  the  sight  is  the  door  to  the 
spirit,  but  in  the  world  of  grace  the  spirit  is  the 
door  to  the  sight.  In  my  natural  life  God 
enters  from  without  and  penetrates  within  ;  in 
my  spiritual  life  God  enters  from  within  and 
makes  His  progress  outward.  The  first  thing 
ill  the  life  of  nature  is  the  last  thing  in  the  life 
of  spirit — vision.  I  am  often  asking  why  it  is 
that  so  little  is  revealed  to  me  ;  it  is  because  I 
m^'self  am  so  little.  If  I  had  more  spirituality 
I  would  have  more  sight.  There  are  treasures 
lying  at  the  door  of  my  dwelling  which  seem  to 
me  simply  like  a  dust-heap.  Some  day  1  shall 
awake  and  marvel  at  ni}^  own  riches  ;  I  shall  mar- 
vel at  the  wells  of  water  which  were  lying  in  my 


126  THE  VISION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

desert ;  1  shall  marvel  at  the  crowns  that  were 
cast  at  the  foot  of  my  cross; 'I  shall  marvel  at 
the  beauty  which  lay  at  the  top  of  the  Dolorous 
way.  The  revelation  is  already  waiting  forme;  ) 
it  is  blazoned  on  the  sky,  it  is  imprinted  on  the 
air  ;  it  will  be  inscribed  upon  my  heart  when  I 
have  ceased  to  be  a  child.  When  I  am  full  of 
the  Holy  Ghost  I  shall  look  up  and  see.       ■ 

O  Spirit  of  holiness,  grant  me  Thy  latest  gift 
— light.  Thy  beginning  is  love,  but  light  shall 
be  Thine  ending.  Thy  spring-time  is  in  my 
heart,  but  Thy  summer  shall  be  in  mine  eyes. 
It  is  not  a  new  sense  I  want,  it  is  the  power  to 
interpret  the  old  senses.  I  want  to  be  led  back 
over  the  old  road  to  read  its  sign-posts  in  the 
light  of  later  years.  I  want  to  go  over  the 
ground  which  I  called  barren  and  see  if  it  had 
not  all  the  time  been  strewn  with  flowers.  I 
want  to  see  the  glory  of  that  which  was  once 
my  cross,  the  beauty  of  that  which  was  once  my 
thorn,  the  triumph  of  that  which  was  once  my 
trial.  I  want  to  learn  that  the  days  which 
seemed  to  me  most  dark  and  dreary  were  in 
truth  the  days  when  heaven  was  opened  to  my 
view.  When  Thou  hast  taught  me  the  glory  of 
sacrifice  I  shall  look  steadfastly  on  the  things 
before  which  I  once  quailed ;  above  the  very 
place  of  my  mart3Tdom  I  shall  see  Jesus. 


LIV. 

U\K  Spii1t'5  use  tov  Mcaltb. 

'Then  the  Spirit  said  unto  Philip,  Go  near,  :ind  join  thyself  to 
tliis  chariot."— Acts  viii.  29. 

^,f^OIN  thyself  to  this  chariot."  It  is  not 
1^  every  chariot  that  can  be  joined  by 
the  prompting  of  the  Spirit ;  tlicre  are 
forms  of  worldly  riches  which  eat  out  the  divine 
life.  Yet  the  evil  is  not  in  the  chariots  but  in 
their  drivers.  The  Spirit  does  not  wish  to 
destroy  the  chariot  but  to  get  hold  of  the  reins. 
It  wants  to  turn  the  heads  of  the  horses  into  a 
new  direction — the  direction  of  humanity.  So 
far  from  despising  the  wealth  of  this  world, 
it  is  the  wealth  of  this  world  that  the  Spirit 
chiefly  needs.  It  seeks  to  make  friends  of  that 
which  is  now  the  Mammon  of  unrighteousness. 
It  wants  men  of  influence,  .men  of  power,  men 
of  resources,  men  who  can  afford  to  spend.  It 
knows  the  power  of  the  mountains  over  the 
valleys,  and  therefore  it  prays  to  the  mountains. 
It  says,  "  Come  down,  ye  rich,  and  help  the 
poor;   come   down,  ye  strong,  and   support   the 


I2S  THE  SPIRIT'S  USE  FOR  WEALTH. 

weak  ;  come  down,  ye  great,  and  make  lighter 
the  work  of  the  lowly.  Come  and  lift  the 
toiling  missionary,  come  and  clothe  the  ragged 
school,  come  and  heal  the  myriad  sick,  come 
and  feed  the  starving  millions.  Bring  your 
gold  and  silver  to  the  feet  of  the  child-Christ — 
to  the  door  ot  that  humanity  which  lies  still  in 
the  manger  of  Bethlehem." 

Spirit  of  Christ,  let  the  chariots  of  the  world 
join  themselves  to  Thee.  May  they  join  them- 
selves to  Thee  on  the  road  on  which  Thou  art 
going — the  way  through  the  desert.  Thy  way 
is  ever  through  the  wilderness  across  the  track 
where  the  lonely  dwell.  Thy  path  is  ever  amid 
the  waste  places  of  the  earth,  where  the  labour- 
ing seem  to  toil  v/ithout  reward,  and  the  heavy- 
laden  to  endure  in  vain.  Into  that  desert  let 
Mammon  bring  his  chariots  to  Thee.  Into  these 
waste  places  let  Ethiopia  pour  her  treasures  for 
Thy  i-.se.  Let  Tarshish  and  the  isles  bring 
presents,  let  Sheba  and  Seba  offer  gifts.  Let 
Ophir  bring  her  gold,  and  Araby  her  spices,  and 
Egypt  her  costly  gems,  and  let  them  lay  them 
on  Thy  altar — the  altar  of  humanity.  When 
the  box  of  precious  ointment  shall  be  poured  on 
Thy  bleeding  head,  the  chariots  of  earth  shall 
have  become  Thy  chariot  of  fire. 


V 


/ 


LV. 

Ube  Scparationa  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"As  they  ministered  to  the  Lord,  rind  fasted,  the  Holy  Ghost  said. 
Separate  me  Barnabas  and  Saul  fur  the  work  whereunto  I  have 
called  them." — Acts  xiii.  2. 

'f!i^v^S  there  then  a  separation  of  friends  which 
^M  wi  owes  its  origin  to  divine  love  ?  These 
f~-^„i<o  j-j-jg,-,  Yi^d  been  watching  together,  com- 
muning together,  praying  together  ;  was  it  not 
hard  that  a  separation  should  come,  harder  still 
that  it  should  come  from  the  Spirit  of  God  ?  Nay, 
but  the  separation  was  meant  to  be  the  cement 
of  a  future  and  a  firmer  union.  It  was  the  re- 
moval from  a  lower  circle  of  two  of  its  greatest 
members  in  order  that  these  might  find  a  more 
powerful  rivet  of  the  chain.  Tlie  Spirit  of  love 
had  given  a  temporary  wound  to  love  for  the 
sake  of  love.  It  had  brought  a  shadow  upon 
the  scene  in  the  interest  of  a  brighter  sunshine, 
it  had  cast  a  gloom  over  the  day  in  preparation 
for  a  grander  glory. 

O  Thou  divine  Spirit,   I  thank  Thee  for  this 
revelation.      My   darkest    hours   have    been    the 

I 


I30        THE  SEPARATIONS  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

hours  that  have  separated  great  souls  from  the 
circle  of  earthly  life.  1  have  seen  the  leader?  cf 
the  age  in  church  and  state  removed  and  I  have 
asked  vi^h}'  the  work  of  humanity  is  so  indifferent 
to  Thee.  But  Thou  liast  answered  me  here. 
Thou  hast  told  me  that  these  separations  came 
not  from  Thine  indifference  but  from  Thine 
interest  in  the  work  of  humanity.  Thy  separa- 
tions are  separations  ^' for  the  work  of  the 
ministry."  'There  are  spirits  that  cannot  serve 
Thee  perfectly  in  the  tabernacle  of  clay  ;  Thou 
breakest  the  tabernacle  and  settest  them  free. 
There  are  souls  that  would  do  greater  works 
than  what  we  see  if  they  could  only  ascend  to 
their  Father ;  Thou  givest  them  wings  that  they 
may  fly  away.  There  are  lives  that  could  speak 
to  larger  numbers  if  they  had  powers  of  larger 
locomotion ;  Thou  sendest  the  chariot  called 
death  and  settest  their  feet  in  a  large  room. 
Thou  art  Thyself  the  union  of  all  separations  : 
the  chariot  cannot  long  divide  us  if  its  goal  is 
towards  Thee. 

V 


LVI, 

Ube  probibitfons  of  the  Spidt 

"After  they  were  come  to  Mysia,  tliey  assayed  to  go  into  Bithynia: 
but  the  Spirit  suffered  them  not." — Acts  xvi.  7. 


W^  HAT  a  strange  prohibition  !      Tlicsc  men 


were   going   into    Bithynia  just    to    do 
"■^  Christ's    work    and    the    door    is    shut 


against  them  by  Christ's  own  Spirit.  I  too 
have  experienced  this  in  certain  moments.  I 
have  sometimes  found  myself  interrupted  in  what 
seemed  to  me  a  career  of  usefuhiess.  Opposition 
came  and  forced  me  to  go  back,  or  sickness  came 
and  compelled  me  to  retire  into  a  desert  place 
apart.  It  was  hard  at  such  times  to  leave  my 
work  undone  when  I  believed  that  work  to 
be  the  service  of  the  Spirit.  But  I  came  to 
remember  that  the  Spirit  has  not  only  a  service 
of  work  but  a  service  of  waiting.  I  came  to 
see  that  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ  there  are  not 
only  times  for  action  but  times  in  which  to  for- 
bear from  acting.  I  came  to  learn  that  the 
desert  place  apart  is  often  the  most  useful  spot 
in  the  varied   Hfe  of  man — more  rich  in  harvest 


132         THE  PROHIBITIONS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

than  the  seasons  in  which  the  corn  and  wine 
abounded.  I  have  been  taught  by  the  songs 
of  the  night  to  thank  the  blessed  Spirit  that 
many  a  darling  Bithynia  had  to  be  left  unvisited 
by  me. 

And  so,  Thou  divine  Spirit,  would  I  still  be 
led  by  Thee.  Still  there  come  to  me  dis- 
appointed prospects  of  usefulness.  To-day  the 
door  seems  to  open  into  life  and  work  for  Thee ; 
to-morrow  it  closes  before  me  just  as  I  am  about 
to  enter.  Teach  me  to  see  another  door  in  the 
very  inaction  of  the  hour.  Help  me  to  find  in 
the  very  prohibition  thus  to  serve  Thee  a  new 
opening  into  Thy  service.  Inspire  me  with  the 
knowledge  that  a  man  may  at  times  be  called 
to  do  his  duty  by  doing  nothing,  to  work  by 
keeping  still,  to  serve  by  waiting.  Awaken  me 
to  the  conviction  that  there  are  moments  of 
solitary  repose  which  are  more  rich  in  their 
result  to  humanity  than  centuries  of  busy  strife. 
When  I  remember  the  power  of  the  still  small 
voice  I  shall  not  murmur  that  sometimes  the 
Spirit  suffers  me  not  to  go. 


LVII. 

TTbe  Zllnconscious  Moilnno  of  tbe  Spirit 

"  He  said  unto  them,  Have  ye  received  the  Holy  Ghost  since  ye 
behoved?  And  they  said  unto  him,  We  have  not  so  much  as 
heard  vvhctlier  there  be  any  Holy  Ghost." — Acts  xix.  2. 

■^^"^^^ND  these  men  were  disciples  !  They  are 
^?'f:if,\^  in  so  many  words  ranked  among  the 
^^^^  believers,  and  yet  they  say  that  they 
never  heard  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  I  thought  no 
man  could  be  a  believer  except  through  the 
Spirit.  Neither  he  can,  but  it  does  not  follow 
that  he  should  at  once  see  where  his  belief  comes 
from.  The  infant  can  only  recognise  an  outer 
world  through  the  light,  yet  the  infant  never 
heard  the  name  of  light.  Even  so  is  it  in  the 
spiritual  world.  We  see  at  the  outset  a  beauty 
to  which  we  cannot  give  a  name ;  like  Jacob's 
angel  it  wrestles  with  us  but  refuses  to  be 
defined.  We  perhaps  deny  to  ourselves  even 
the  name  of  Christian,  while  all  the  time  Christ 
is  in  our  heart  and  in  our  mind.  We  perhaps 
call  our  lofty  thoughts  by  other  names — culture, 
civilisation,    social   progress,    development,  while 


134       UNCONSCIOUS  WORKING  OF  THE  SriRIT. 

bcliind  all  these,  at  the  birth  of  all  these,  there 
has  been  hiding  within  our  souls  the  presence 
and  the  power  of  the  Eternal. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  help  me  to  trace  more  widely 
Thy  presence  and  Thy  power.  Teach  me  that 
Thou  art  the  source  of  all  light  even  when  it 
shines  amidst  those  who  deny  Thee.  I  distin- 
guish between  gifts  of  nature  and  gifts  of  grace  ; 
teach  me  that  nature  itself  is  a  gift  of  grace  from 
Thee.  Give  me  the  power  to  impute  Thy 
presence  wherever  I  behold  the  works  of  love. 
There  are  men  who  say,  "  I  will  not,"  and  yet  go 
• — men  who  call  themselves  unbelievers  and  yet 
do  the  works  of  the  Father.  Help  me  to  impute 
to  them  more  than  they  claim,  to  see  that  no 
man  could  do  these  works  unless  Thou  hadst 
sent  him.  Help  me  to  give  to  such  the  hand  of 
brotherhood,  the  bond  of  fellowship,  the  cup  of 
communion,  to  recognise  that  we  must  reach  the 
unity  of  the  heart  before  we  can  come  into  the 
unity  of  the  faith.  Help  me  to  detect  the  family 
likeness  that  binds  me  to  men  of  other  creeds — 
the  evidence  of  one  Fatherhood,  the  proof  of  one 
humanity  ;  then  shall  I  rank  amongst  my  Lord's 
disciples  many  even  of  those  who  say  that  they 
never  heard  of  the  Holy  Ghost. 


LVIII. 

Ubc  jfetters  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"And  now,  behold,  I  go  bound  in  the  Spirit  unto  Jerusalem,  not 
knowing  the  things  that  shall  befall  me  there." — Acts  xx.  22. 

■g^  GO  bound  in  the  Spirit."  There  is  an 
^i  d^  instinct  in  the  world  of  the  Spirit  as 
^"^^^^  there  is  an  instinct  in  the  world  of 
the  animal ;  there  is  nothing  so  hke  the  lowest 
as  the  highest.  The  bee  moves  toward  the 
making  of  its  hive  because  it  is  bound  to  go. 
It  is  impelled  by  a  power  it  does  not  know, 
directed  by  a  voice  it  cannot  understand.  Even 
so  is  it  in  the  life  of  the  Spirit.  If  I  wait  till  I 
can  see  the  goal  of  my  own  actions  I  shall  never 
act  at  all.  'If  I  go  to  Jerusalem  I  must  be  con- 
tent to  go  "  not  knowing  the  things  that  shall 
befall  me  there."  There  is  a  binding  of  the 
Spirit  which  is  quite  distinct  from  the  voice  of 
reason.  Sometimes  it  comes  in  a  sense  of  duty, 
sometimes  in  a  flash  of  aspiration,  sometimes  in 
an  impulse  of  love.  But  in  whatever  form  it 
comes  it  takes  no  denial.  It  makes  my  action 
instinctively  necessary.     It  commands  and  thence- 


136  THE  FETTERS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

forth  I  am  bound  to  go — without  waiting  for 
sunrise,  without  measuring  the  ground,  without 
learning  the  name  of  the  country  ;  it  must  be 
written  of  me  as  of  Abraham  "  he  went  out  not 
knowing  whither  he  went." 

Spirit  of  Christ,  Thy  chain  is  golden.  The 
fetters  Thou  imposest  are  wings  of  freedom. 
There  is  no  liberty  like  the  liberty  of  being 
bound  to  go.  When  Thou  layest  upon  me  the 
sense  of  obhgation,  that  moment  Thou  settcst 
my  spirit  free.  When  Thou  sayest  that  I  must, 
my  heart  says,  "  I  can."  My  strength  is  pro- 
portionate to  the  strength  of  those  cords  that 
bind  me.  I  am  never  so  unrestrained  as  when 
I  am  constrained  by  Thy  love.  Evermore,  Thou 
divine  Spirit,  guide  me  by  this  instinct  of  the 
right.  Put  round  about  my  heart  the  cord  of 
Thy  captivating  love  and  draw  me  whither  in  my 
own  light  I  would  not  go.  Bind  me  to  Thyself 
as  Thou  bindest  the  planets  to  the  sun,  that  it  may 
become  the  very  law  of  my  nature  to  be  led  by 
Thee.  *  May  I  be  content  to  know  that  goodness 
and  mercy  shM  fol/ow  me  without  waiting  to  see 
them  in  advance  of  me.  May  I  be  content  to 
feel  that  my  God  shall  be  my  rearward  w-ithont 
folding  my  hands  till  1  find  Him  in  the  van./^^Iy 
journey  to  Jerusalem  shall  be  fraught  with  power 
when  in  the  strength  of  the  Spirit  I  am  bound 
to  KO. 


LIX. 

Ube  /IftaiBtcrsbip  of  the  Spirit. 

"  Take  heed  therefore  unto  yourselves,  and  to  all  the  flock,  over 
the  which  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  to  feed  the 
Church  of  God,  which  He  hath  purchased  with  His  own  blood." — 
Acts  xx.  28. 

^^fl^ti^.O  be  made  an  overseer  by  the  Holy 
I'S:.  Is  Ghost  is  a  very  different  thing  from 
'^^iirsi^  being  made  an  overseer  by  the  world. 
To  be  made  an  overseer  by  the  world  is  to 
be  made  a  master,  but  to  be  created  overseer 
by  the  Spirit  is  to  be  made  a  servant.  One 
would  have  expected  the  words  to  be  "  the 
Holy  Ghost  hath  made  you  overseers,  there- 
fore take  care  to  rule."  Instead  of  that  it  is 
the  contrary,  "  the  Holy  Ghost  hath  made 
you  overseers,  therefore  take  care  to  feed,  to 
nourish,  to  minister."  Divine  power  is  not 
like  any  other  power.  Every  other  power 
lifts  me  above  my  brother,  but  divine  power 
puts  me  beneath  my  brother,  it  is  the  power 
of  stooping.      God   HiniSL-If  ha.s   purchased    His 


138  THE  MASTERSHIP  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

conquest  "  with  His  blood."  It  is  because  the 
power  of  His  Spirit  is  a  power  of  sacrifice 
that  the  presence  of  His  Spirit  in  me  must 
be  manifested  in  sacrifice.  The  Son  of  man 
proclaimed  Himself  a  king  when  before  the 
judgment  seat  of  Pilate  He  put  on  the  martyr's 
crown ;  even  so,  the  hour  when  the  Spirit 
makes  me  overseer  must  also  be  that  hour  in 
which  I  feed  the  wants  of  men. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  give  me  the  sign  that  Thou 
art  in  me.  The  sign  that  Thou  art  in  me  is 
the  possession  of  Thy  power,  and  Thy  power 
is  sacrifice.  It  is  the  sacrificial  blood  of  love 
that  makes  Thee  a  Providence ;  let  the  same 
life  make  me  an  overseer.  Thou  rulest  in 
the  armies  of  heaven  and  among  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  earth  because  Thou  opcnest  Thy 
hand  to  satisfy  the  desires  of  all  that  live ; 
Thine  empire  is  built  on  ministration.  Even 
such  would  I  have  my  empire  to  be.  I  would 
have  it  founded  on  the  seas  and  established 
on  the  floods.  I  would  have  it  constructed 
on  the  power  to  toil  with  those  who  work,  to 
bear  with  those  who  are  burdened,  to  weep 
with  those  who  weep.  Help  me  to  realise 
day  by  day  that  the  possession  of  the  keys 
of  Thy  kingdom  is  the  commission  to  feed 
Thy  sheep.  Help  me  to  learn  hour  by  hour 
that  the  test  of  loving  more   than    others    love 


THE   MASTERSHIP  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  139 

is  the  stooping  to  feed  Thy  lambs.  The 
measure  of  my  power  shall  be  the  measure  of 
my  self-forgetfulness  ;  I  shall  know  that  Thou 
hast  made  me  an  overseer  when  in  sacrifice 
I  have  shed  my  blood. 


LX. 

Xlbc  Spirit's  ]£i*pulsion  of  false  Sbame, 

"  And  hope  maketh  not  ashamed  ;  because  the  love  of  God  is  shed 
abroad  in  our  hearts  by  the  Holy  Ghost  which  is  given  unto  us." 

— Romans  v.  5. 

^^T'Kt'iJHE  erreat  difficulty  with  which  early 
xMWif  d^istianity  had  to  fight  was  a  false 
•^iSfti^  shame.  It  was  on  the  unpopular 
side,  and  youth  does  not  like  to  be  unpopular. 
The  rising  generation  was  in  the  minority ; 
it  was  ashamed  of  its  own  hopes.  How  was 
the  Christian  hope  to  be  lifted  out  of  this 
shame  ?  Paul  says  it  could  only  be  done  in 
one  way — by  the  coming  into  the  heart  of 
the  spirit  of  love.  And  truly  Paul  is  right. 
Love  is  the  only  conqueror  of  shame.  A 
conviction  may  penetrate  my  intellect  and  yet 
I  may  shrink  from  avowing  it.  But  when 
it  is  "  shed  abroad  in  my  heart "  all  shame 
vanishes.  When  love  comes  I  lift  up  my 
head  before  the  world.  The  unpopularity  of 
the    cause    becomes    to    me    its    glory.        Love 


THE  SPIRIT'S  EXPULSION  OF  FALSE  SHAME.   141 

longs  for  sacrifice  and  the  unpopularity  pre- 
sents the  sacrifice.  Love  struggles  to  pour 
out  its  treasures,  an-d  the  poverty  of  its  object 
supplies  its  need.  It  glories  in  its  chain,  it 
rejoices  in  its  tribulation,  it  exults  in  its 
humility.  It  would  not  give  up  its  cross  for 
the  crown  of  a  king  or  the  robe  of  a  seraph. 
It  would  not  resign  its  burden  of  another's 
care  though  it  were  offered  in  exchange  the 
wings  of  an  eagle  to  mount  and  not  be  weary. 
It  finds  its  highest  pride  in  flying  downwards  ; 
it  "  maketh  not  ashamed." 

Spirit  divine,  she<l  abroad  in  my  heart  the 
love  of  Jesus,  Create  within  me  that  per- 
fect love  which  maketh  not  ashamed.  Inspire 
me  with  the  power  to  follow  lUm  into  these 
lowly  places  where  He  delights  to  dwell. 
Impel  me  to  go  down  with  Him  into  the 
regions  that  sit  in  darkness,  to  accompany 
Him  into  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death. 
Help  me  to  lift  His  cross  in  the  face  of  the 
universe,  to  carry  His  burden  in  the  sight  of 
all  mankind.  Enable  me  to  see  the  majesty 
of  His  cro'wn  of  thorns.  Let  me  feel  the 
glory  of  being  with  Him  in  the  solitude  of 
Gethsemane,  of  watching  when  others  sleep, 
of  standing  when  others  flee.  Let  me  learn 
the  privilege  of  pouring  the  costly  ointment 
on    that    wounded    head     that     was     wreathed 


142  THE  SPIRITS  EXPULSION  OF  FALSE  SHAME. 


with  the  sorrows  of  humanity.  When  Thou 
hast  shed  abroad  the  love  of  Him  in  my  soul 
I  shall  not  be  ashamed  to  hope  for  the  outcasts 
whom  He  bore. 


LXI. 

trbe  %ihctt^  of  tbe  Spfdt 

"  For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  hath  made  mc 
free  from  the  law  of  sin  and  death." — Romans  viii.  2. 

^I^OTHING  but  an  inward  law  can  make 
,Sp  me  free  from  outward  law.  I  am 
^"^^  often  as  much  the  child  of  Mount 
Sinai  as  was  the  Jew.  I  walk  through  the 
world  as  the  boy  walks  through  the  schoolroom 
— remembering  that  he  has  lessons  to  learn 
and  that  he  has  answers  to  record.  I  speak 
of  my  responsibility,  of  my  accountableness,  of 
my  judgment  to  come.  That  is  the  law  of 
sin  and  death,  and  it  is  a  very  useful  law ;  it 
keeps  back  the  hand  from  much  thaj:  is  evil. 
But  does  it  keep  back  the  heart  ?  No,  there 
is  the  weak  spot.  The  heart  submits  but  it 
does  not  feel  free.  It  is  no  more  free  than  the 
boy  in  the  schoolroom  is  free ;  I  want  to  be  in 
the  playground  but  I  am  compelled  to  attend 
the  class.  Who  will  release  me  from  this 
compulsion  ?  Who  will  liberate  me  from  this 
thraldom  ?       Who    will    break    the    chain    that 


144  THE  LIBERTY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

binds  me  and  restore  to  me  the  joy  of  my 
unfettered  days,  the  freshness  of  the  unfor- 
bidden morning? 

Thou,  O  Spirit !  Thou  canst  set  me  free. 
It  is  not  in  freedom  from  the  chain  that  my 
hbcration  must  come  ;  it  is  in  love  o<  the  chain. 
It  is  not  by  leaving  the  school  for  the  play- 
ground that  I  shall  become  a  free  man  ;  it  is 
in  making  the  school  itself  a  playground. 
What  I  want  is  not  fewer  burdens  but  more 
life,  more  love.  I  want  Thy  law  which  now  is 
outward  to  become  inward — the  breath  of  my 
nature,  the  necessity  of  my  being.  I  want  Thy 
life  to  become  to  me  a  habit,  an  instinct,  an 
environment,  an  atmosphere  out  of  which  is 
death.  I  want  to  find  that  to  be  absent  from 
Thy  service  is  to  be  in  poisoned  air,  that  to  be 
engaged  in  Thy  work  is  to  play  in  my  native 
element.  I  would  make  my  service  to  Thee 
not  an  obedience  but  a  thirst — the  thirst  of  the 
hart  for  those  water-brooks  without  which  its 
nature  is  unfinished.  When  the  order  of  Thy 
life  has  become  my  law  I  shall  be  free  from 
that  other  law  which  was  made  for  sin  and 
death. 


LXII. 

TLbc  Spirit  as  a  ifDarbiuocr. 

♦'And  if  Christ  be  in  you,  the  body  is  dead  because  of  sin  ;  but 
the  Spirit  is  life  because  of  righteousness." — Romans  viii.  lo. 

^^"^HE  test  of  being  in  Christ  is  not  the  body 

v^j^]      but   the   Spirit.      Paul   says    that    after 

^^^^s^iM      Christ  has  entered  into  a  man  the  bod}'- 

may   for  a   time   remain   dead  ;   in   other  words, 

the  bad  outward  habits  of  the  past  may  not  at 

once   die.      But   he   says   that   even   amidst   this 

outward    barrenness    there    shall    be    already    a 

herald   of   the    spring ;    the   body   may   be   dead 

b'lt   the   Spirit  shall   be    alive.      What    does    he 

mean  ?      He  means  that  the  earliest  part  of  us 

is    our    aspirations.      Our    desires   come    before 

our  deeds.      They   are   what   the    swallows    are 

to  the  summer — its   harbingers.      They  do   not 

accompany  the  fruit  but  they  predict  its  coming. 

They  are   the   songs   of  the    shepherds    on    the 

plains    of    Bethlehem.        While    yet    the    outer 

scene  is   wrapt  in   night,   while  yet   the  visible 

Christ    is    lying    in    a    manger,    they    utter    the 

prophecy    of    the    approaching    age     of    gold, 

K 


146  THE  SPIRIT  AS  A  HARBINGER. 

"  Glory    to   God    in    the   highest,  and   on    earth 
peace,  goodwill  to  the  children  of  men." 

O  Thou  divine  Christ,  give  me  the  evidence 
that  Thou  art  in  me.  My  earliest  sense  of 
Thy  presence  in  my  heart  must  be  my  admir- 
ation of  Thy  beauty.  My  love  of  Thee  must 
precede  my  imitation  of  Thee.  Let  me  not  be 
dismayed  though  my  body  should  for  some 
time  remain  dead  after  my  aspirations  have 
become  alive.  Thy  foliage  is  earlier  than  Thy 
fruit ;  Thy  summer  is  in  advance  of  Thine 
autumn ;  Thy  loveliness  is  seen  before  Thy 
law.  I  am  a  partaker  of  Thy  Spirit  before 
I  am  a  member  of  Thy  body ;  I  admire  Thee 
sooner  than  I  can  follow  Thee.  I  know  that 
Thy  sacred  year  is  not  complete  without  the 
autumn ;  I  know  that  Thy  foliage  is  useless 
without  the  fruit.  But  though  the  dawn  would 
be  useless  without  the  day,  it  is  the  prelude 
to  the  day.  Even  so  is  it  with  the  dawn  of 
Thy  Spirit  within  me.  There  is  still  darkness 
all  around ;  the  actions  are  impure  ;  the  body 
is  dead.  But  the  aspiration  is  already  up  in 
the  sky  ;  the  hope  is  already  aloft  in  the 
heart ;  the  ideal  is  already  reigning  in  the  air, 
and  therefore  I  know  assuredly  that  the  reality 
is  not  far  away.  When  my  spirit  aspires 
after  righteousness  it  is  because  in  me  Thy 
Spirit  of  righteousness  is  alive. 


LXIII. 
Xlbe  Hbstinence  of  tbc  Spirit 

"  But  if  ye  through  the  Spirit  do  mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body, 
ye  shall  live." — Romans  viii.  13. 

|?5^^HR0UGH  the  Spirit,"  that  is  an  impor- 


'^^      tant  qualification.     There  are  men  who 


jSte 


mortify  the  deeds  of  the  body  not 
tlirougli  the  Spirit.  There  are  men  who  have 
abjured  the  world  from  disappointment,  from 
jealousy,  from  jaundice.  They  have  gone  into 
the  solitude  and  shut  the  cloister  cell  and 
refused  entrance  to  the  face  of  man.  That  is 
not  to  mortify  the  body  "  through  the  Spirit." 
It  cannot  be  said  of  such  "  ye  shall  live  ;  "  theirs 
is  a  perpetual  death.  Wouldst  thou  mortify 
thy  flesh  "through  the  Spirit"?  then  must 
thou  abstain  from  evil  for  the  sake  of  love. 
The  Spirit  is  itself  love,  and  to  do  anything 
through  the  Spirit  is  to  do  it  for  love's  sake. 
Wouldst  thou  mortify  thy  flesh  "  through  the 
Spirit "  ?  then  must  thy  motive  be  not  grief  but 
joy.       The    sacrifice    must     be    covered     by    a 


148  THE  ABSTINENCE  OF  THE  SPHUT. 

mightier  sense  of  gain.  The  pain  must  be 
swallowed  up  in  victory — the  victory  of  love. 
The  loss  must  come  to  thee  not  as  an  im- 
poverishment but  as  an  enrichment,  not  as  a 
process  of  deadening  but  as  the  throbbing  of 
a    new    life ;,    he    that    sacrifices    "  through    the 

Spirit"   in    the    moment   of   his    sacrifice    "shall 

111 
ive. 

Spirit  of  love  ;    Spirit  of  the  Son  of  man,  let 

me   only  sacrifice    "  through   Thee."      Thou   de- 

sircst   not   my  pain,  else  would    I  give  it  Thee  ; 

if  I   give   my  body  to   be    burned   and   have  not 

love,  it  profiteth  Thee  nothing.      What  is  it  that 

Thou   prizest   in   my   pain  ?       Nothing    but    the 

proof   of   my    love.       Thou    sayest    to    my   soul 

'  Canst    thou    go    with    Me    where    I    go ;    canst 

thou  dwell  with  Me  where  I  dwell  ?      Dost  thou 

love    Me    well    enough    to    accompany    Me    into 

yonder  lone  Gethsemane  ?     Dost  thou  deem  Me 

dear  enough  to   stand   by   My  side  in   the  dark 

night  ?      Dost  thou  hold    Me  precious  enough  to 

take  the  cup  into  thy  hand   because  it   has   been 

in   My  hand  ?      Wouldst   thou  rather  share  My 

grief  than    be  possessor  of  a  joy   unshared   by 

Me  ?       Wouldst    thou    rather    watch    with    Me 

under  the  shadow  of  My  heavy  heart   than  sleep 

away   the   hours    in   personal   repose  ?      Then    I 

bless   thy  tears ;   I   prize   thy  cross ;   I  value  thy 

sorrow;     I    accept    thy    sacritice.       Thy    burnt 


TlIE  ABSTINENCE  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  149 

offering  is  to  Me  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night ;  it 
warms  Me,  it  gladdens  Me,  for  it  tells  Me  of  a 
kindred  soul.  Thou  hast  crucified  thy  body 
through  the  love  of  My  Spirit ;  therefore  thou 
Shalt  live  with  Me.' 


LXIV. 
Zhc  Spirit  scefiino  tbe  BoD^. 

"And  not  only  they,  but  ourselves  also,  which  have  the  first-fruits 
of  the  Spirit,  even  v/e  ourselves  groan  within  ourselves,  waiting  for 
the  adoption,  to  wit,  the  redemption  of  our  body." 

— Romans  viii.  23. 

^>f^5HE  idea  is  a  very  striking  one.  'Even 
vSjl^  we — the  men  who  have  the  first-fruits 
•f^^^^  of  the  Spirit,  are  not  satisfied  without 
the  redemption  of  the  body  too.  Even  we,  who 
are  supposed  to  have  our  souls  anchored  in 
another  world,  are  not  content  to  let  the  present 
world  go.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  believe, 
as  we  do  believe,  that  there  are  regions  be^'ond 
the  seen  and  temporal ;  we  want  the  region 
that  is  seen  and  temporal  to  be  itself  redeemed 
and  glorified.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  know 
that  there  is  a  sacred  as  well  as  a  secular  life  ; 
we  want  the  secular  life  to  be  made  itself 
sacred.  It  is  not  enough  for  us  to  recognise 
that  there  is  a  city  not  built  with  hands  ;  we 
want  to  feel  that  every  village  of  the  world  was 


THE  SPIRIT  SEEKING  THE  BODY.  151 

meant  to  be  a  street  of  that  city.  We  want 
to  see  the  deep  things  of  God  thrown  up  upon 
the  surface  of  society,  to  behold  the  h'fe  of  tlic 
Spirit  permeating  the  life  of  the  flesh,  to  find 
the  impress  of  eternity  stamped  upon  the  forms 
of  time.  We  wait  for  the  creation  itself  to  be 
delivered  from  bondage  into  freedom.  We  wait 
for  the  time  when  we  shall  have  pleasure  with- 
out hurt,  knowledge  without  detriment,  research 
without  shaking,  criticism  without  irreverence, 
culture  without  coldness,  contact  with  impurity 
without  sin.  We,  the  men  of  the  Spirit,  desire 
most  of  all  the  redemption  of  the  body.' 

Spirit  Divine,  make  the  body  divine  too. 
Redeem  this  outer  man  from  the  sense  of  bond- 
age. Give  me  an  enlarged  liberty  of  action, 
an  extended  sphere  of  locomotion,  a  wider 
boundary  of  possession.  Give  me  the  power  to 
visit  more  places  without  injury,  to  do  more 
things  without  harm,  to  taste  more  pleasures 
without  corruption.  Give  me  the  grace  to  walk 
through  the  corn  fields  on  the  Sabbath  day  and 
3'et  to  keep  the  Sabbath  even  in  my  walking. 
Give  me  the  strength  to  go  to  the  marriage 
feast  of  Cana,  and  yet  to  make  a  sacrament 
even  of  the  nuptial  joy.  Give  me  the  purity  to 
sit  down  in  the  social  circle  of  Bethany  and  yet 
to  preserve  the  heart  uncumbered  by  social 
cares.      Give  me,  above  all,  the   spotlessncss  of 


152  THE  SPIRIT  SEEKING  THE  BODY. 

soul  that  can  touch  the  world  and  remain  un- 
spotted still — exposed,  yet  undefiled,  assailed, 
yet  free  from  tarnish,  tempted,  yet  without  sin. 
Tlie  Spirit  indeed  is  willing ;  but  I  groan 
within  myself  for  the  redemption  of  the  body. 


LXV. 
TL\K  5iiteixe65ion  ot  tbc  Spirit. 

"  Likewise  the  Spirit  also  hclpiith  our  infirmities:  for  we  know 
not  what  we  should  pray  for  as  we  ought :  but  the  Spirit  itself 
niaketh  intercession  for  us  with  groanings  which  cannot  be  uttered." 

— Romans  viii.  26. 

t'iiSiHERE  are  times  in  this  human  life  in 
jgSj  which  we  have  no  language  but  a  cry, 
^^  a  wail  that  can  find  no  words,  a 
groaning  that  cannot  be  uttered.  There  is  no 
speech  and  there  is  no  language ;  the  voice  of 
supplication  is  not  heard  ;  only  from  the  inmost 
recesses  of  the  soul  there  rise  up  unspoken 
cries  which  are  eloquent  in  their  very  speechless- 
ness. They  ask  for  nothing;  they  know  not 
what  they  ought  to  pray  for.  But  Paul  says 
that  to  every  one  of  these  cries  there  is  imputed 
the  value  of  a  prayer.  Each  of  them  is  counted 
an  intercession  of  the  Spirit.  The  Father 
translates  the  lispings  of  His  child  into  His 
own  language ;  He  imputes  to  me  what  I 
would  say  if  I  could  speak.  He  helps  my 
infirmity    in    asking    by    reading    between    the 


154         THE  INTERCESSION  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

lines.  He  interprets  the  groans  of  the  heart 
not  by  its  feeble  capacity  for  expression,  but 
by  the  largeness  of  His  own  love.  The  prayers 
of  the  Spirit  are  the  unuttered  voices  of  the 
soul. 

O  my  Father,  I  have  moments  of  deep  unrest 
— moments  when  I  know  not  what  to  ask  by 
reason  of  the  very  excess  of  my  wants.  I  have 
in  these  hours  no  words  for  Thee,  no  conscious 
prayers  for  Thee.  My  cry  seems  purely 
worldly  ;  I  want  only  the  wings  of  a  dove  that 
I  may  flee  away.  Yet  all  the  time  Thou  hast 
accepted  my  unrest  as  a  prayer.  Thou  hast 
interpreted  its  cry  for  a  dove's  wings  as  a  cry  for 
Thee,  Thou  hast  received  the  nameless  longings 
of  my  heart  as  the  intercessions  of  Thy  Spirit, 
They  are  not  yet  the  intercessions  of  my  spirit ; 
I  know  not  what  I  ask.  But  Thou  knowest 
what  I  ask,  O  my  God.  Thou  knowest  the 
name  of  that  need  which  lies  beneath  my 
speechless  groan.  Thou  knowest  that  nothing 
but  the  river  of  T/iy  pleasures  can  ever  satisfy 
my  thirsty  soul.  Thou  knowest  that  because  I 
am  made  in  Thine  image  I  can  find  rest  only  in 
what  gives  rest  to  Thee  ;  therefore  Thou  hast 
counted  my  unrest  unto  me  for  righteousness, 
and  hast  called  my  groaning  Thy  Spirit's  prayer. 


LXVI. 
Ubc  CbariU^  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"Now  the  God  of  hope  fill  you  with  all  joy  and  peace  in  fieliev- 
ing,  that  ye  may  abound  in  hope,  through  the  power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost." — Romans  XV.  13. 

^T^'^^^ND  so  the  abounding  in  hope  is  a  power 
^ml^  of  the  Spirit,  and  evidence  of  advance- 
ment in  the  divine  life.  There  are 
some  who  seem  to  tliink  that  the  sign  of  spiritual 
advancement  is  the  narrowing  of  hope.  They 
look  upon  charity  as  something  which  the  bad 
ought  to  have  for  those  in  the  same  condemna- 
tion. Yet  Paul  himself  does  not  appeal  to  tiie 
bad  as  those  most  likely  to  hope  for  the  fallen  ; 
he  says,  "  If  a  man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault,  ye 
which  are  spirHiial  restore."  He  knew  well 
that  only  the  springtime  can  yield  the  prophetic 
song  of  the  swallows.  He  knew  well  that  only 
the  upper  dawn  can  promise  the  illumination  of 
the  valleys.  He  had  no  belief  whatever  that 
winter  would  hope  for  summer,  or  that  night 
would  predict  the  meridian  of  the  coming  day. 
It  was   to   the  day   itself  that   he  looked   for  a 


IS6  THE  CHARITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

disclosure  of  the  possibilities  of  heat  and  sun- 
shine ;  the  abounding  hope  in  humanity  was  to 
be  reached  only  through  the  power  of  the  Pioly 
Ghost. 

God  of  hope,  whose  freedom  from  all  im- 
purity is  the  absence  of  all  despair,  I  shall 
only  reach  the  perfect  charity  when  I  come  to 
Thee.  Thou  alone  of  all  this  universe  hopest 
unto  the  end.  We  follow  our  prodigals  afar 
off,  and  pursue  their  footsteps  for  a  long  time, 
but  when  they  touch  the  country  of  the  Gada- 
rcnes  we  lose  sight  of  them  and  let  them  go. 
But  Thou  never  losest  sight  of  Thy  prodigals — ■ 
not  even  amongst  the  swine.  There  is  no 
limit  to  Thy  hope  because  there  is  no  limit  to 
Thy  love.  It  is  the  limit  to  our  love  that 
makes  us  despair.  When  our  brother  becomes 
dead  in  trespasses  and  in  sin,  we  put  him  out 
of  our  hope  because  we  turn  him  out  of  our 
hearts.  But  Thou  hopest  even  for  Thy  dead. 
Thy  love  is  stronger  than  death.  Thou  goest 
down  into  the  graves  and  sittest  among  the  dry 
bones  and  criest  "  Awake  thou  that  sleepest." 
Thou  rollest  away  the  stone  that  covers  the 
sepulchre  of  poor  humanity,  and  callest  in  Thy 
tenderest  tones  "  Believe  and  live."  Thou  en- 
terest  where  man  draweth  back  ;  Thou  searchest 
where  man  abandoneth ;  Thou  strivest  where 
man   slumbercth ;    Thou   redeemest  where   man 


THE  CHARiTY  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  157 

destroyeth.  Thou  findest  germs  in  the  grave  ; 
Thou  discoverest  sparks  in  the  snow ;  Thou 
h'ghtest  stars  in  the  night ;  Thou  hearest  songs 
in  the  silence.  Thy  love  is  evergreen,  therefore 
Thy  hope  is  eternal. 


LXVII. 

Zhc  Spirit's  Solution  of  /Iftv^stcries. 

"For  the  Spirit  searchcth  all  tilings,  yea,  the  deep  things  of  God," 

— I  CoK.  ii.  lo. 

l^'S^t  HERE  are  mysteries  which  are  quite 
v^  jB>f  iinfathcmable  to  everything  but  love, 
^L.J^  Why  should  the  good  Eather  send  so 
many  crosses  to  His  children  ?  We  look  in 
a  hundred  directions  for  the  answer  and  from 
ninety  and  nine  the  answer  comes  not.  Eye 
hath  not  seen  it ;  ear  hath  not  heard  it ;  imagina- 
tion hath  not  conceived  it.  The  crosses  of  life 
are  the  deep  things  of  God,  and  thought  cannot 
explore  them.  But  love  can  ;  the  spirit  of  love 
can  interpret  the  acts  of  love.  You  want  to 
know  why  the  Eather  gives  you  pain  ;  the 
memory  of  parental  love  will  search  out  that 
depth  for  you.  Did  you  never  get  pain  as  a 
direct  gift  of  parental  love  ?  Did  you  never 
receive  a  task  when  you  wanted  an  hour  of  play, 
or   sigh    within    school-house   walls    when    you 


THE  SPIRIT'S  SOLUTION  OF  MYSTERIES.      159 

panted  for  green  fields  ?  Yet  your  fetters  have 
become  3'our  wings  ;  your  tears  have  made  your 
rainbow ;  your  prison-house  has  led  captivity 
captive.  You  would  not  part  with  that  gift  of 
pain  for  all  the  other  gifts  of  your  universe  ;  it 
was  a  bondage  that  enlarged  your  soul. 

Spirit  of  love,  Spirit  of  the  All-Father,  Thou 
alone  canst  interpret  the  dark  places  that 
surround  Thee.  Only  when  I  learn  that  this 
world  is  Thy  school-house  shall  I  find  the 
vindication  of  its  pan.  I  cannot  penetrate  the 
deep  things  of  Joseph's  dungeon  except  by  the 
light  of  Thy  Fatherhood  ;  it  seems  so  hard  to 
see  the  vanishing  of  youth  through  the  iron 
entering  into  the  soul.  But  the  education  of 
Thy  Fatherhood  explains  all.  There  is  no  gift 
of  parental  love  like  the  iron  of  the  soul  — the 
strengthening  of  the  inner  man.  It  is  love's 
brightest  jewel  given  in  its  roughest  casket. 
Thou  canst  not  send  it  to  me  through  the 
flowers  of  Eden  ;  it  can  come  only  through  the 
tears  of  Gcthsemane.  Thy  gift  of  iron  to  my 
soul  interprets  its  Gethsemane.  It  justifies  the 
long  dark  night  with  its  desertedncss  and  its 
agony.  It  vindicates  the  withered  palm-leaves, 
and  the  hushed  hosannahs,  and  the  fading  of 
Jordan's  morning  glow.  It  explains  the  dropping 
of  the  curtain  over  that  transfiguration  glory 
which  earth  would  fain  interpret  as  the  promise 


i6o     THE  SPIRIT'S  SOLUTION  OF  MYSTERIES. 

of  perpetual  mountain  heights.  In  the  light  of 
Thy  love  the  valleys  are  themselves  exalted ; 
the  deep  things,  the  dark  things  are  illuminated 
by  Thee. 


LXVIII. 

trbc  /Il^o^e  ot  HJlsccrnlno  tbc  Spirit, 

"  Rut  the  natural  man  receivcth  not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  :  for  they  are  foolishness  unto  him  :  neither  can  he  know  them, 
because  they  are  spiritually  discerned." — i  Cor.  ii.  14. 

■^^^^^ND  so  there  were  Agnostics  in  Paul's 
ffm%S  day  too  !  There  were  those  who  called 
themselves  "natural  men" — the  men  of 
the  five  senses.  They  refused  to  believe  that 
anything  was  in  the  universe  which  did  not 
come  through  these  gates.  And  yet  in  that  con- 
clusion they  were  most  unnatural.  The  largest 
part  of  what  I  call  Nature  never  came  to  me 
through  the  five  gates.  Where  did  I  get  my 
idea  of  beauty  ?  Came  it  from  the  hilltop  or 
from  the  valley  or  from  the  plain  ?  Nay,  nor 
from  anything  without  my  own  soul.  Where 
did  I  get  my  sense  of  music  ?  Came  it  from 
the  vibrations  of  the  air  ?  All  the  vibrations  in 
the  world  would  not  make  one  note  of  music ; 
the  kingdom  of  melody  is  within  me.  Where 
did  I  get  my  thought  of  natural  law?  Came 
it   from   the   observations   of  science  ?      Science 

L 


162     THE  MODE  OF  DISCERNING  THE  SPIRIT. 

itself  would  have  been  impossible  if  that  thought 
had  not  been  born  before  it.  It  came  from  my 
own  mind — -from  that  sense  of  order  which  be- 
longs to  mind  alone ;  I  never  could  have  seen  it 
in  the  stars  if  I  had  not  first  felt  it  in  my  soul. 

O  Thou  that  comest  not  through  the  five 
gates,  help  me  to  discern  Thee  by  Thine  own 
light.  Teach  me  that  there  are  other  gates  than 
the  five.  Tell  me  that  there  are  portals  more 
golden  than  the  eye  or  the  ear.  Once  didst 
Thou  call  a  disciple  blessed  because  he  saw  in 
Thee  what  flesh  and  blood  could  not  reveal. 
Be  mine  that  blessedness  for  evermore.  Enable 
me  to  see  Thy  glory  beneath  that  form  which 
was  more  marred  than  the  sons  of  men.  Help 
me  to  detect  Thy  majesty  gleaming  through  the 
rent  side  and  the  pierced  hands.  Teach  me  to 
recognise  Thine  uplifting  above  the  earth  in  the 
very  hour  of  Thy  humiliation  upon  the  cross. 
Inspire  me  with  the  knowledge  that  Thou  art  a 
king  in  the  very  moment  when  Thou  art  dis- 
crowned by  Pilate's  judgment  seat.  Show  me 
the  power  of  Thy  sacrifice,  the  glory  of  Thy 
shame,  the  strength  of  Thy  gentleness,  the 
empire  of  Thy  love.  When  I  have  received 
Thine  image  in  my  heart  nothing  shall  be  so 
natural  as  the  vision  of  Thee ;  when  Thy  Spirit 
of  unselfishness  is  mine  Thy  beauty  shall  be 
spiritually  discerned. 


LXIX. 

trbe  Spint's  IRccoonition  of  Cbrist. 

"  No  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

— I  CuK.  xii.  3. 

^*^i^HE  thought  is  a  beautiful  one.  Paul 
^§1  iSX  says  that  all  worship  is  participation 
^^""■^  in  that  which  we  adore.  And  verily 
he  is  right.  Worship  is  the  homage  of  the 
heart,  and  the  heart  can  only  pay  homage  to 
that  which  is  already  in  it.  If  I  admire  the 
beauties  of  Shakespeare  I  must  be  myself  a 
Shakespeare.  However  much  I  acknowledge 
his  lordship  over  me  I  can  only  do  so  by  reason 
of  a  kindred  spirit  ;  the  light  which  shows  him 
to  be  above  me  is  his  own  light  in  me.  I  may 
be  a  mute  inglorious  poet  ;  I  may  never  be  able 
to  write  a  line  in  my  life ;  never  fit  to  give 
forth  one  note  of  song.  But  if  my  heart  has 
thrilled  to  the  accents  of  the  Swan  of  Avon, 
if  m}^  soul  has  bowed  down  before  the  majesty 
of  that  which  it  instantaneously  feels  but  could 
never  have  expressed,  I   have  already  the  clear 


i64     THE  SPIRIT'S  RECOGNITION  OF  CHRIST. 

and  certain  evidence  that  the  germ  of  the  same 
genius  sleeps  in  me. 

My  soul,  art  thou  seeking  a  test  of  whether 
thou  hast  the  Spirit  of  Christ  ?  Art  thou 
desirous  to  know  whether  the  life  that  dwelt 
in  Him  dwells  in  thee  ?  Not  long  needest  thou 
wait  for  an  answer.  There  is  a  test  for  thee 
which  is  infallible,  unimpeachable.  Is  Christ 
to  thee  an  object  of  admiration  ?  Does  there 
rise  within  thee  a  thrill  of  rapture  at  the  sound 
of  His  footsteps  passing  by  ?  Does  there  wake 
within  thee  a  flutter  of  the  heart  as  His  voice 
reaches  thine  ear  ?  Does  there  vibrate  within 
thee  a  chord  of  music  as  His  accents  fall  upon 
thy  way  ?  Does  there  swell  within  thee  an 
infinite  longing  to  be  like  Him,  to  be  near  Him, 
to  be  one  with  Him  ?  Dost  thou  feel  thyself  to 
be  poorer  than  before,  meaner  in  thine  own  eyes 
than  ere  He  had  crossed  thy  path  ?  Then  thou 
art  already  like  Him,  thou  hast  already  His 
Spirit.  Thou  art  like  Him  because  thou  seest 
Him  as  He  is — beautiful.  If  thou  wert  not 
like  Him  it  would  be  impossible  for  thee  to 
see  His  beauty  ;  thou  wouldst  be  able  to  look 
only  on  His  marred  visage.  But  thou  hast  seen 
beneath  the  marred  visage.  Thou  hast  bowed 
before  a  glory  not  made  with  hands.  Thou 
hast  recognised  a  kingdom  amid  the  emblems 
of  the  dust.     Thou  hast  reverenced  a  lordship 


THE  SPIRIT'S  RECOGNITION  OF  CHRIST.      165 

hid  in  a  servant's  form.  Thou  hast  detected  a 
loveliness  that  concealed  itself  in  the  miry  clay. 
Therefore  thou  art  like  Him;  thou  hast  the 
impress  of  His  image  in  thyself,  for  that  which 
thou  lovest  is  already  half  thine  own.  No  man 
can  say  that  Christ  is  Lord  but  by  participation 
of  His  own  Spirit. 


LXX. 

Zbc  Continuity?  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"  There  are  diversities  of  gifts,  but  the  same  Spirit." — i  CoK.  xii.  4. 

If^^AUL  says  that  the  Spirit  of  God  must  be 
1^  rS^^  everywhere  or  nowhere.  It  must  not 
^^^^^"^  be  somcthirig  which  is  limited  to  one 
corner  of"  a  man's  nature  ;  it  must  run  through 
the  diversities  of  all  his  gifts.  All  his  gifts 
must  tend  in  one  direction  —  the  direction  of 
self-sacrifice;  this  is  that  sameness  of  the 
Spirit  which  makes  the  most  varied  acts  the 
acts  of  one  religious  life.  Does  it  seem  to 
thee  an  impossible  thing  that  a  man  should  be 
religious  throughout — should  be  able  to  pray 
without  ceasing  ?  Nay,  but  thou  hast  forgotten 
the  nature  of  religion,  the  nature  of  prayer ; 
it  is  the  giving  up  of  thyself.  And  canst 
thou  not  give  up  thyself  in  everything  as  well 
as  in  one  thing?  Is  the  gift  of  song  meant 
in  the  sanctuary  for  the  praise  of  God  and  in 
thine  own  du'elling  for  the  praise  of  thyself? 
Nay,  is  it  not  alike  for  God  and  man  something 


THE  CONTINUITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  167 

given  to  create  joy  ?  Are  thy  prayers  in  the 
house  of  God  offerings  to  the  Heavenly  Father 
and  thy  wishes  in  thine  own  house  offerings 
merely  to  this  world  ?  Nay,  but  thy  wishes 
must  themselves  be  prayers — golden  desires  that 
thy  good  may  be  the  good  of  all.  Are  the 
contributions  of  thy  hand  in  church  to  be 
dictated  by  the  love  of  God  and  the  con- 
tributions of  thy  intellect  in  the  study  to  be 
dictated  by  the  love  of  fame  ?  Nay,  but  both 
must  be  consecrated  on  one  altar — that  service 
of  humanity  which  is  God's  unconsuming  fire. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  Spirit  of  the  crucified  One, 
let  all  my  gifts  be  permeated  by  Thee.  Let 
my  reason  be  Thine ;  bathe  it  in  the  stream 
of  Thy  sacrifice  that  it  may  come  forth  seel<ing 
truth  for  itself  alone,  truth  at  any  price,  truth 
though  it  lead  to  martyrdom.  Let  my  will  be 
Thine ;  wash  it  in  the  fountain  of  Thy  blood 
that  it  ma»y  come  forth  bound  with  that  chain 
of  love  whose  bondage  is  perfect  freedom.  Let 
my  imagination  be  Thine ;  merge  it  in  the 
ocean  of  Thy  love  that  it  may  come  forth  filled 
with  the  ideal  of  Thy  beauty.  Let  my  heart  be 
Thine  ;  rest  it  with  Thee  on  the  bosom  of  the 
Father  that  it  may  come  forth  desiring  nothing 
which  Thou  desirest  not  and  loving  nothing 
which  is  not  loved  by  Thee.  Let  my  manner 
be  Thine  ;   plunge  it  in  the  wave  of  Thy  self- 


168  THE  CONTINUITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

furgetfulness  that  it  may  come  forth  sparkling 
with  that  grace  which  flows  from  unconscious- 
ness alone.  Then  shall  my  whole  life  be 
religion ;  then  shall  my  whole  atmosphere  be 
prayer ;  then  shall  my  whole  employment  be 
service  of  Thee.  My  diverse  gifts  shall  become 
gifts  of  the  sanctuary  when,  O  Spirit  of  sacrifice, 
they  are  baptized  by  Thee. 


LXXI. 
Zhc  Spivlt'3  6ift  of  Counsel. 

"  To  one  is  given  by  the  Spirit  the  word  of  wisdom." — i  CoK.  xii.  8. 

^I'^IHE  word  of  wisdom"  is  equivalent  to 
V^/j  Lv>j  "the  wise  word" — the  word  spoken  at 
■^Sirfe^  the  right  time.  Paul  says  that  the 
power  to  do  this  can  only  come  through  the 
Spirit  of  Christ,  in  other  words,  through  the 
sacrifice  of  my  thought  of  self.  How  true  this 
is  !  How  many  of  the  most  splendid  advices 
have  failed  in  their  effect  just  because  before 
giving  them  I  forgot  to  bury  myself.  Perhaps 
I  was  angry  ;  perhaps  I  was  indignant ;  perhaps 
I  was  supercilious ;  perhaps  I  was  secretly 
gratified  with  the  glory  of  being  a  mentor. 
And  so  I  failed  to  be  a  mentor — failed  for  want 
of  the  Spirit.  My  word  was  not  wise,  because 
it  was  spoken  at  the  wrong  time,  and  it  was 
spoken  at  the  wrong  time  because  I  did  not  put 
myself  in  the  place  of  my  brother.  I  was 
thinking  of  myself — not  of  him  ;   therefore  I  lost 


170  THE  SPIRIT'S  GIFT  OF  COUNSEL. 

the  blessedness  of  the  man  who  "  bringeth  forth 
his  fruit  in  its  season."  I  brought  out  my  fruit 
of  correction  in  winter  when  m.y  brother  was 
cold  ;  it  added  to  his  bitterness  and  he  rejected 
it  with  scorn.  The  Spirit  would  have  taught 
nie  to  create  the  springtime  first  around  him,  and 
to  speak  my  word  of  wisdom  when  the  singing 
of  birds  had  come. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  help  me  to  speak  to  my 
brother  the  word  of  wise  counsel.  It  will  never 
be  wise  until  it  is  tender,  and  it  will  never 
be  tender  until  it  is  prompted  by  Thee.  Teach 
me  that  if  a  man  be  overtaken  in  a  fault  I  must 
restore  him  "  in  the  spirit  of  meekness"  con- 
sidering my  own  temptation.  Enable  me  before 
I  speak  to  clothe  myself  in  his  circumstances. 
Grant  me  the  power  to  place  myself  in  his 
surroundings,  in  his  diilicultics,  in  his  struggles. 
Give  me  the  strength  to  empty  myself  into  his 
life,  to  say  to  myself,  "  Would  I  have  done  much 
better  if  I  had  been  born  under  the  same 
star  ?  "  Instead  of  marvelling  that  he  is  so  bad, 
help  me  to  see  how  much  worse  he  might  have 
been.  Let  me  begin  by  bearing  his  burden 
before  I  ask  him  to  bear  my  counsel.  Then 
shall  my  counsel  be  tender  because  it  shall  be 
timely.  It  shall  be  as  Thy  voice  was  of  old  to 
the  victims  of  their  own  sin.  It  shall  keep  back 
the   reproof   until   the    ravages    of   the    past    be 


THE  SI>IRIT'S  GIFT  OF   COUNSEL.  171 

healed;  it  shall  say,  "Thy  sins  be  forgiven 
thee "  ere  it  shall  consent  to  sa}',  "  Go  and 
sin  no  more."  My  word  of  counsel  shall  be 
wise  when,  all-atoning  Love,  it  is  dictated  by 
Thee. 


LXXII. 
Zhc  Spiiit's  Gift  of  1l3cnUn0. 

"To  another  the  gifts  of  healing  by  the  same  Spirit." 

— I  Cor.  xii.  9, 

jNE  would  think  that  the  Spirit  could 
have  no   connection  with   the  gifts  of 

'  an  hospital  nurse.  The  Spirit  belongs 
to  the  sphere  of  religion  ;  the  gifts  of  nursing 
belong  to  the  sphere  of  the  physician.  Yes, 
but  the  sphere  of  religion  is  everywhere ;  it 
includes  the  sickroom  as  one  of  its  wards. 
"What  makes  the  difference  between  a  good 
and  a  bad  nurse  is  often  just  the  possession 
of  the  Spirit.  Two  hands  may  be  equally 
skilled  mechanically ;  yet  the  touch  of  the  one 
is  soothing,  the  contact  of  the  other  is  repellent. 
Why  is  this  ?  It  is  because  the  one  is  the 
hand  of  the  hireling  who  works  to  make  a 
living ;  the  other  is  the  hand  of  the  philan- 
thropist who  lives  to  achieve  a  work.  The  one 
is  the  touch  that  discharges  an  allotted  task  ; 
the  other  is  the  contact  that  feels  a  kindred 
pain.        The    one    is    the     helpfulness     that    is 


THE  sriRIT'S  GIFT  OF  IIEALINCx.  173 

mindful  of  favours  to  come ;  the  other  is  the 
movement  of  a  perfect  self-forgetfulness  which 
for  the  present  is  only  conscious  of  the  humanity 
which  it  succours. 

Spirit  of  Christ,  Thou  whose  glory  it  is  to 
give  Thy  life  for  the  many,  help  those  whose 
lot  it  is  to  minister  to  the  spirits  in  prison. 
Help  those  whose  call  it  is  to  watch  by  the  bed 
of  sickness,  to  smooth  the  troubled  pillow,  to 
solace  the  couch  of  pain.  Teach  them  that  the 
art  of  ministration  is  the  art  of  love.  One  day 
in  Thy  courts  is  worth  a  thousand  days  of  mere 
outward  learning ;  one  touch  of  Thy  pity  is 
worth  a  thousand  rules  of  mere  worldly  pru- 
dence. Give  to  those  who  tend  the  pains  of 
humanity  a  deep  sense  of  humanity  itself.  Let 
the  suffering  to  which  they  minister  be  felt  as 
their  own  suffering.  Create  within  them  that 
sympathy  which  makes  sacrifice  itself  not  sacri- 
ficial, because  it  makes  us  love  our  neighbour 
as  ourselves.  Inspire  them  with  the  thought 
that  they  are  members  of  one  body  with  those 
whom  they  succour.  Let  them  feel  that  the 
limbs  which  lie  racked  upon  the  sick-bed  are 
their  own  limbs,  that  the  eyes  which  watch 
sleeplessly  for  the  morning  are  their  own  eyes, 
that  the  hands  which  are  folded  in  feebleness 
are  their  own  hands.  Then  shall  they  have 
power,   Thy  power,    the    power    of   Thy    love. 


174  THE  SPIRIT'S  GIFT  OF  HEALING. 

Then  like  Thee  they  shall  bear  away  the 
iniirmi ties  from  others,  because  like  Thee  they 
have  begun  by  taking  the  infirmities  on  them- 
selves, for  their  cross  shall  be  the  step  to  their 
crown  and  their  power  to  suffer  shall  be  their 
strenefth  to  heal. 


LXXIII. 
XLM  Earnest  of  tbe  Spirit, 

"Given  the  earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our  hearts." — 2  COR.  i.  22, 

^°pv!HE  earnest  of  the  Spirit  is  always  in  tlie 
£i,:j  I0'  heart ;  it  is  a  zvt'sh  to  be  good.  The 
'(kL^-^  Spirit  has  tremendous  hcighls  before 
it — heights  of  knowledge,  heights  of  action, 
heights  of  Calvary ;  but  its  beginning,  its 
earnest,  its  springtime,  is  a  simple  desire.  The 
bud  from  which  the  Rose  of  Shai'on  springs  is 
a  longing.  The  first  gift  of  God  to  my  soul 
is  a  sense  of  want,  the  feeling  of  an  empty 
heart.  It  is  the  feeling  of  an  empty  heart 
that  tells  me  I  am  more  than  the  beast  of  the 
field.  That  which  prophesies  my  greatness 
is  not  what  I  possess  but  the  sense  of  what 
I  do  not  possess.  The  earlie'5t  measure  of  me 
is  the  intensity  of  my  cry.  When  the  Spirit 
first  came  to  me  I  only  knew  of  its  coming  by 
my  hunger.  The  only  change  of  which  I  was 
conscious  was  a  change  from  satisfaction  into 
dissatisfiedness.      The  birds  had  lost  the  sweet- 


176  THE  EARNEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

ness  of  their  song,  and  the  fields  the  freshness 
of  their  green,  and  the  days  the  kistre  of 
their  joy.  The  Spirit  came  with  the  clouds  of 
heaven — came  with  a  shadow  to  my  heart. 
But  the  shadow  was  an  earnest  of  coming  light. 
What  made  the  birds  lose  their  song  and  the 
fields  their  green  and  the  days  their  lustre  ? 
It  was  the  glimmer  of  a  glory  above  the  bright- 
ness of  the  sun.  My  heart  had  caught  sight  of 
an  aperture  in  the  prison  wall  and  thenceforth 
it  knew  it  was  in  prison  and  panted  to  be 
free. 

Son  of  man,  my  thirst  for  Thee  is  the  herald 
of  Thee,  The  earnest  of  Thy  coming  is  the 
shadow  on  my  heart.  The  shadow  on  my  heart 
is  Thy  shadow ;  only  by  the  vision  of  Thee  can 
I  learn  my  want  of  Thee.  In  the  world  of 
sense  I  can  hunger  before  I  have  known  the 
taste  of  food,  but  in  the  world  of  spirit  I  must 
taste  before  I  can  hunger.  Therefore  it  is  that 
my  hunger  for  Thee  is  my  earnest  of  Thee ; 
I  know  by  the  craving  of  my  heart  that  Thou 
must  be  at  the  door.  It  is  the  approach  of  Thy 
footsteps  that  has  put  everything  else  in  silence. 
It  is  the  music  of  Thy  voice  that  has  made  all 
other  things  seem  discord.  It  is  the  light  of 
Thy  countenance  that  has  left  the  surrounding 
world  in  shadow.  It  is  the  vision  of  Thy 
moral    beauty    that    has    emptied    my   heart    of 


The  f.arnest  of  the  sriRiT.  177 

its  treasures  and  made  it  vacant,  cold.  O 
eloquent  silence  !  O  harmonious  discord  !  O 
luminous  shadow  !  O  vacant  heart  prophetic 
of  an  overflowing  fulness  !  I  will  not  fear  to 
enter  into  that  cloud,  for  1  know.  Thou  Divincst 
life,  that  the  cloud  is  an  earnest  of  Thee. 


LXXIV. 

^be  Spirit's  Bbolition  of  tbe  %n\\\ 

"  Where  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  is,  there  is  liberty." 

— 2  CoK.  iii.  17. 

I^^^^T  E  say  sometimes  of  a  task  we  are  learning, 
i^M/^  "  ^  Jisve  not  yet  got  into  the  spin'l  of 
'^^^^'^'■^^  it."  We  mean  that  it  has  not  yet 
become  easy  to  us.  Nothing  becomes  easy  to 
us  until  we  have  got  into  the  spirit  of  it.  The 
spirit  of  any  study  is  its  harmony  with  my 
spirit ;  it  is  the  change  of  law  into  love.  When 
I  am  a  pupil  at  school  I  begin  by  learning  rules, 
but  when  I  have  mastered  the  science  I  forget 
the  rules.  I  forget  them  in  the  very  act  of 
observing  them — keep  them  most  perfectly 
when  I  am  unconscious  of  their  presence.  I  no 
longer  think  of  my  scales  and  exercises,  I  no 
longer  think  of  my  stops  and  intervals  ;  these 
belonged  to  the  days  of  law,  but  I  am  now 
under  grace.  The  master-spirit  of  the  musician 
has  set  me  free — not  free  fjvm  the  law,  but  free 
/;/  it.  I  travel  over  the  old  scales  and  exercises, 
over  the    old    stops   and    intervals,   unconscious 


THE  SPIRIT'S  ABOLITION  OF  THE  LAW.       179 

that  they  are  still  on  the  wayside.  I  pass 
unnoticed  the  phices  of  my  former  pain  ;  I  go 
through  undisturbed  the  scenes  of  my  youth's 
perplexity,  for  the  spirit  of  music  has  made  me 
free,  and  its  law  is  most  destroyed  when  it  is 
most  fulfilled. 

So,  Thou  divine  Spirit,  is  it  with  Thee. 
Before  I  have  entered  into  Thee  it  is  a  hard 
thing  to  be  divine  ;  it  is  all  scales  and  exercises, 
the  law  of  my  members  wars  against  the  law  of 
Thy  mind.  Until  Thou  comest  I  am  not  at 
home  in  the  holy  places;  the  presence  of  my 
God  is  not  fulness  of  joy.  I  am  too  anxious 
about  the  counting  of  my  stops  and  intervals  ;  I 
am  too  eager  about  the  measuring  of  my  moral 
distances  ;  I  am  too  disturbed  about  Piiy.selJ"  and 
my  remoteness  from  the  goal.  But  when  Thou 
comest  1  forget  everything  but  Thee.  I  forget 
even  my  own  humihty,  my  own  rags,  my  own 
nothingness  ;  in  the  presence  of  Thy  love  I  am 
burned  up  with  unquenchable  fire.  Thy  love  is 
the  music  of  my  religion  ;  it  puts  me  in  Vac 
spirit  of  it.  I  no  longer  need  to  learn  the 
separate  notes  of  duty  ;  I  can  play  by  the  ear  ; 
I  can  improvise.  I  no  longer  count  the  number 
of  times  I  shall  forgive ;  my  every  act  of 
forgiveness  is  for  eternity.  I  no  longer  ask, 
"  Am  I  coiiiniandcd  to  follow  Thee  ? "  I  say, 
"  Lord,  sufter  me   to  go."      I    no  longer  cry,  "  I 


i8o     THE  SPIRIT'S  ABOLITION  OF  THE  LAW. 

iriist  come  to  Thee  or  I  shall  go  to  hell,"  but  I 
s.'iy,  "  It  is  hell  without  Thee ;  bid  me  that  I 
come."  Thou  hast  become  my  vital  air ;  I 
breathe  in  Thee.  Thy  will  is  my  joy ;  Thy 
work  is  my  play  ;  Thy  law  is  my  life ;  Thy 
service  is  my  glory  ;  Thy  cross  is  my  power  ; 
Thy  command  is  my  strength  ;  the  constraint  of 
Thy  love  is  my  spirit's  liberty. 


LXXV. 

Xlbe  Spirit's  Bbolitfou  of  tbe  Sense  of 

"  Received  ye  the  Spirit  by  the  works  of  the  law,  or  by  the  hearing 
of  faith  ?  " — Gal.  iii.  2. 

I^^HAT  Paul  asks  is  really  this,  "Did 
f^'AM  '"'^^  Spirit  come  to  you  through  a 
->^t>«<;SS  sense  of  past  attainment  or  through 
the  sense  of  future  expectancy  ?  "  "  Did  it 
come  from  the  pride  of  work  already  done,  or 
did  it  rise  in  the  humble  hope  that  strength 
would  be  given  for  work  yet  to  do  ? "  Let 
us  try  to  understand  Paul's  meaning.  What 
was  your  first  proof  that  you  had  received  the 
spirit  of  poetry?  Was  it  when  you  looked 
back  on  the  wretched  verses  of  your  boyhood 
and  pronounced  them  very  good  ?  No  ;  that 
was  a  proof  that  you  had  72oi  the  spirit  of 
poetry.  But  it  was  when  you  stood  before 
the  judgment  seat  of  John  Milton  and  saw 
the  books  opened — the  "  Paradise  Lost "  and 
the    **  Comus "    and  the    "  Lycidas,"  when  you 


i82  THE  SPIRIT'S  ABOLITION  OF 

felt  that  in  the  blaze  of  their  glory  your  own 
works  were  burned  for  evermore,  when  there 
rose  within  your  humbled  soul  the  hope  that 
one  day  you  might  be  allowed  to  catch  some 
faintest  far  off  gleam  of  that  poetic  vision,  it 
was  then  and  only  then  that  the  spirit  of  poetry 
was  yours.  You  received  that  spirit  when  you 
found  your  past  works  to  be  vile. 

Son  of  man,  Thou  hast  robbed  me  of  my 
glory.  Before  I  saw  Thee  I  was  proud  of  my 
past  works  ;  my  ideal  was  low  and  I  was  easily 
satisfied.  But  one  day  it  was  said  to  me  "Jesus 
of  Nazareth  passeth  b}',"  and  I  went  out  to  see 
Thee.  1  saw  Thee  by  that  vision  of  the  soul 
which  men  call  faith,  and  that  instant  I  died. 
I  fell  to  the  earth  broken  and  blinded  and  the 
rags  of  my  self-righteousness  were  consumed 
by  the  brightness  of  Thy  coming.  Yesterday 
I  strutted  through  the  temple  and  cried,  "  Lord, 
I  thank  Thee  that  I  am  not  as  other  men  ;  " 
to-day  I  beat  upon  my  breast  and  say,  "  Unclean, 
unclean ;  Lord,  be  merciful  to  me  a  sinner." 
And  yet  I  am  nearer  to  Thee  now  than  I  was 
then ;  I  would  not  go  back  to  yesterday'.  It 
is  light  and  not  darkness  that  reveals  my 
distance  from  Thee.  It  is  the  rise  of  the  Star 
of  Bethlehem  that  tells  me  Thou  art  in  advance 
of  me,  going  on  before.  It  is  the  height  of 
my   new   ideal   which    prevents    me   from    being 


THE  SENSE  OF  MERIT,  183 

satisfied ;  it  is  the  jealousy  of  my  enlarging 
love  that  will  not  let  me  say  "  Well  done." 
O  Sun  of  Righteousness  whose  healing  wings 
begin  by  overshadowing  me,  O  spotless  Lamb 
whose  glory  crucifies  my  pride,  O  Pearl  of  great 
price  before  whose  flashing  radiance  my  gold 
indeed  is  dim,  the  shadow  and  the  cross  and 
the  dimness  are  all  from  Thee.  It  is  Thy 
Spirit  within  me  that  has  taught  me  Thy  height 
above  me ;  my  despair  of  myself  is  born  of 
faith  in  Thee. 


LXXVI. 

Zbc  patience  ot  the  Spirit. 

"For  we,  through  tlie  Spirit,  by  faith  wait  for  the  hope  of 
righteousness." — Gal.  v.  5. 

l^fl^HERE  are  times  when  thines  look  very 
v^  I'M  dark  to  me — so  dark  that  I  have  to  wait 
i-Jsr^a  even  for  hope.  It  is  bad  enough  to  wait 
in  hope ;  a  long  deferred  fulfilment  carries  its 
own  pain.  But  to  wait  /or  hope,  to  see  no 
glimmer  of  a  prospect  and  yet  to  refuse  to 
despair,  to  have  nothing  but  night  before  the 
casement  and  yet  to  keep  the  casement  open 
for  possible  stars,  to  have  a  vacant  place  in  my 
iieart  and  yet  to  allow  that  place  to  be  filled  by 
no  inferior  presence — it  is  the  grandest  patience 
in  all  this  universe.  It  is  Job  in  the  tempest; 
it  is  Abraham  on  the  road  to  Moriah  ;  it  is 
Moses  in  the  desert  of  Midian ;  it  is  the  Son 
of  man  in  the  garden  of  Gethsemane.  There 
is  no  patience  so  hard  as  that  which  endures 
"as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible;"  it  is  the 
waiting  for  hope.      1   can  wait   for  the   meridian 


THE  PATIENCE  OF  THE  SPH^IT.  i&'5 

when  I  get  a  glimpse  of  the  dawn,  but  when 
the  very  dawn  is  invisible  I  would  need  a  giant's 
faith.  When  I  see  the  primrose  of  hope  I  can 
say  "The  summer  will  soon  be  he''?,"  but  when 
the  primrose  of  hope  itself  is  faded,  it  is  divinely 
strong  to  say  "It  will  bloom  again  to-morrow." 
Yes,  divinely  strong,  for,  O  Spirit,  the  strength 
is  Thine.  Thou  ha?.t  brought  into  this  world 
a  new  order  of  heroes — the  men  who  can  wait. 
The  heroes  of  the  past  were  men  to  whom 
waiting  was  impossible,  who  rushed  impetuously 
to  achieve  the  impulse  of  the  hour.  But  Thou 
hast  created  a  new  form  of  greatness,  a  fresh 
type  of  manhood.  In  Him,  whom  wc  call  the 
Sou  of  man,  Thou  hast  exalted  into  a  mountain 
what  3'esterday  was  a  valley.  Thou  hast  made 
waiting  beautiful  ;  Thou  hast  made  patience 
divine.  Thou  hast  shown  us  that  the  cup  of 
'^orrow  may  be  accepted  when  there  is  no  star 
in  the  sky.  Thou  hast  taught  us  that  the 
Father's  will  may  be  received  just  because  it 
is  His  will.  Thou  hast  revealed  to  us  that 
a  soul  may  see  nothing  but  sorrow  in  the  cup 
and  yet  may  refuse  to  let  it  go,  convinced  that 
the  eye  of  the  Father  sees  further  than  its  own. 
Give  me  this  divine  power  of  Thine — the  power 
of  Gethsemane.  Give  me  the  power  to  wait 
for  hope  itself,  to  look  out  from  the  casement 
when  there  are  no  stars.      Give  me  the  power, 


l86  THE  PATIENCE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

when  the  very  joy  that  was  set  before  me  is 
gone  down,  to  stand  unconquered  amid  the 
niglit  and  say,  "  To  the  eye  of  my  Father  it 
is  perhaps  shining  still."  I  shall  reach  the 
climax  of  strength  when  I  have  learned  to  wait 
for  hope. 


LXXVII. 

Ube  /IDotive  of  the  Splitt 

"  Walk  in  the  Spirit,  and  ye  shall  not  fulfil  the  lust  of  the  flesh." 

— Gal.  v.  i6. 

>T  is  of  no  use  to  attempt  the  weaning 
from  one  joy  except  through  another 
joy.  The  lusts  of  the  flesh  are 
pleasures  ;  it  is  a  shame  that  we  need  to  say 
so,  but  it  is  true.  How  then  shall  we  be 
cured  of  these  pleasures  ?  Paul  says  that  we 
can  only  be  cured  of  them  on  the  principle  of 
homoeopathy — by  creating  a  like  desire  in  the 
higher  parts  of  our  nature ;  the  lust  of  the 
flesh  can  be  counteracted  only  by  a  longing 
of  the  spirit.  How  different  are  God's  methods 
from  mine  ;  I  am  always  seeking  to  heal  bad- 
ness by  restrictions  ;  I  would  keep  my  brother 
from  evil  by  tying  his  hands.  I  forget  that 
mere  prohibition  makes  the  heart  beat  cjuicker  ; 
the  tree  is  never  so  dear  to  me  as  when  a 
voice  says  "  Thou  shalt  not  eat."  It  is  a  fearful 
thing  when  the  unclean  spirit  has  gone  out  and 
the  clean  spirit  has  not  yet  come  in  ;  my  house 


lS8  THE  MOTIVE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

then  is  left  unto  me  desolate.  Who  shall 
remove  the  desolation  ?  Who  shall  lift  me  out 
of  these  dry  places  where  I  wander  and  where 
I  protest  against  my  bereavement  ?  Nothing 
can  do  it  but  a  new  love — no  pains,  no  chains, 
no  threats,  no  prisons  ;  my  restraint  will  be  but 
the  place  of  my  torment  from  which  I  shall  cry 
for  water  to  cool  my  tongue.  If  I  would  forget 
the  past,  father  Abraham,  or  some  other  minis- 
tering spirit  must  bring  me  the  draught  of  a 
purer  water,  whereof  they  that  taste  shall  never 
thirst  again.  If  I  would  quench  the  lusts  of  the 
flesh  I  must  walk  in  the  Spirit. 

Spirit  of  love.  Thou  canst  set  me  free ;  Thou 
canst  quench  the  thirst  of  my  lower  soul.  I 
cannot  keep  my  heart  from  evil  by  merely 
ceasing  to  think ;  if  the  door  of  thought  be 
unguarded  the  unclean  spirit  will  return.  I 
want  something  to  fill  the  vacancy ;  I  want 
Thcc.  My  eye  has  been  long  gazing  on  im- 
purit}-  and  it  will  not  be  cured  by  being  sent 
into  darkness ;  lift  upon  it  the  light  of  Thy 
countenance  and  it  shall  be  safe.  My  ear  has 
been  long  listening  to  discord,  and  it  will  not 
be  healed  by  being  draped  in  silence ;  let  it 
hear  Thy  voice  upon  the  waters  and  it  shall 
have  melody  evermore.  My  hand  has  been  long 
raised  in  wrath  against  my  brother,  and  it  will 
not  be  redeemed  by  being  put  in  chains  ;   let  it 


THE  MOTIVE  OF  TIIIC   SPIRIT.  1S9 

be  compelled  to  bear  Thy  cross  and  it  will  hurt 
no  living  thing.  Come,  Thou  fire  of  heaven, 
and  extinguish  the  fire  of  hell.  Thy  love  can 
burn  up  all  contrary  loves.  Thou  art  the  only 
fire  by  which  the  bush  of  life  is  not  consumed. 
The  lust  of  the  flesh  weakens  me,  wearies  me. 
But  Thy  burning  makes  me  stronger  day  by 
day.  It  consumes  my  care  but  it  preserves  inc. 
It  destroys  my  selfishness  but  it  magnifies 
myself.  Like  the  three  men  in  the  fiery  furnace 
I  feel  that  a  fourth  power  is  added  to  me  when, 
O  Spirit,  I  walk  in  7'hce, 


LXXVIII. 

tTbe  fruits  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"  But  the  fruit  of  the  Spirit  is  love,  joy,  peace,  long-suffering, 
gentleness,  goodness,  fuith,  meekness,  temperance." — Gal,  v.  22,  23. 

C^^^^HAT  a  strange  order  do  these  fruits  of 
^■\mM  '^■^^  Spirit  follow  ;  I  would  have  ex- 
«aii»^^  pected  the  crudes  clusters  to  be  at 
the  beginning  and  the  ripest  at  the  end.  But 
here  the  order  seems  to  be  the  reverse ;  it 
appears  as  if  the  ripest  came  first  and  the 
crudest  afterwards.  There  are  three  clusters  on 
this  tree  of  life.  The  earliest  is  the  highest — the 
nearest  to  the  sky;  it  is  "love,  joy,  peace," 
The  second  is  lower ;  it  is  nearer  to  the  earth, 
and  it  has  been  affected  by  the  earthly  shadows. 
Exaltation  has  been  succeeded  by  the  need  for  self- 
restraint — "long-suflfering,  gentleness,  goodness." 
The  latest  is  the  lowest  of  all ;  it  has  altogether 
touched  the  earth  and  is  in  full  conflict  with 
its  shadows.  The  need  for  self-restraint  has 
deepened  into  the  necessity  for  self-renunciation, 
and    the    waiting    called    "  long-sutTering"    has 


THIL  FRUITS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  191 

become  the  storm  and  stress  of  battle — "  faith, 
meekness,  temperance."  "  ()  what  a  fall  was 
there  1  "  is  our  spuntaneoiis  cry.  What  a  leap 
from  love  to  temperance,  from  the  glow  of  the 
heart  to  the  mere  holding  in  of  the  reins.  Why 
has  the  summer  come  first  and  the  winter  after- 
wards ?  why  have  the  fruits  of  the  Spirit  not 
followed  the  order  of  the  year  ? 

They  have,  my  brother,  thy  last  stage  is  here 
thy  ripest.  The  love  that  can  sing  in  the 
summer  air  is  beautiful,  but  the  meekness  that 
can  inherit  the  earth  is  more  beautiful  stiil.  It 
is  more  beautiful  because  it  needs  more  love. 
Canst  thou  sing  in  the  summer  air?  it  is  well, 
but  the  lark  can  do  the  same.  Thy  Father 
demands  of  thee  a  love  song  more  glorious  than 
the  lark's — a  song  that  can  ascend  from  the 
winter  and  the  valleys.  He  wants  a  song  that 
can  rise  up  to  Him  from  the  snows  of  earth, 
from  the  mist,  and  the  cold,  and  the  depression 
of  the  life  of  common  day.  He  wants  a  praise 
that  can  issue  from  hearts  that  have  been  tried 
by  sorrow,  a  love  that  has  been  born  not  of 
sight  but  of  faith,  a  psalm  that  has  been  "  rolled 
to  wintry  skies"  by  lips  that  have  been  taught 
by  restraining  meekness  to  say,  )tt  Thy  will  be  -^ 
dune."s^  Wilt  thou  give  Him  this  love?  wilt 
thou  send  Him  this  song?  wilt  thou  sing  like 
the  swallow  in  the  cold  ere  yet  it  is  more  than 


192  THE  FRUITS  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

spring  ?  Then  shall  the  latest  cluster  of  thy 
tree  be  the  most  glorious  of  all,  then  shall  the 
last  offering  of  thy  life  be  the  ripest  fruit  of  the 
Spirit,  for  love  on  the  earth  is  better  than  love 
in  the  air,  and  the  rest  of  tempered  meekness  is 
better  than  the  peace  of  innocence. 


LXXIX. 

Ube  ifirst  /IDessaoe  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"In  whom,  after  that  yc  believed,  ye  were  sealed  with  that  Holy 
Spirit  of  promise. " — Eph.  i.  13. 

K;^^^:^HE  first  gift  of  life  to  my  soul  is  a 
v^  1^  promise.  It  is  so  with  natural  life. 
f^=^^^  Its  earliest  consciousness  is  neither 
of  to-day  nor  of  yesterday,  but  of  to-morrow. 
Its  vision  is  that  of  streets  paved  with  gold, 
of  suns  that  never  set  and  of  days  that  never 
rain ;  it  begins  its  youth  where  Moses  began 
his  old  age — on  the  summit  of  Mount  Nebo. 
The  Spirit  of  divine  life  also  begins  with  Mount 
Nebo  ;  its  first  message  to  the  heart  is  a  vision 
of  the  promised  land.  Before  it  asks  me  to 
take  one  step  of  the  journey  it  presents  me 
with  the  grapes  of  Eshcol — the  specimen  fruits 
of  the  glory  yet  to  be.  It  shows  me  the  end 
at  the  beginning — shows  it  nearer  than  the 
reality.  It  conceals  the  intervening  spaces — 
the  brakes  and  briars  between.  It  takes  me 
out   like  Abraham   below   the  stars  and  if  says 

N 


194       THE  FIRST  MESSAGE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

to  my  proud  spirit,  "  So  shall  thy  seed  be,"  but 
it  does  not  tell  me  that  betwixt  me  and  the 
stars  there  intervenes  that  terrible  hill  of  Moriah 
with  its  great  ordeal  of  faith  and  its  mighty 
surrender  of  will.  It  says,  "  Surely  I  come 
quickly,"  but  it  conceals  as  yet  that  it  "  cometh 
with  clouds ; "  it  hides  the  sword  of  crucifixion 
during  the  shepherd's  song ;  it  is  the  Spirit 
of  promise. 

O  Thou  beneficent  Spirit,  I  thank  Thee  for 
this  first  message  to  my  soul.  I  thank  Tiice 
that  Thy  first  voice  to  me  has  been  the  voice 
not  of  warning  but  of  promise.  I  thank  Thee 
that  my  earliest  vision  has  not  been  the  cross 
of  Calvary  but  the  opened  heavens  and  the 
descending  dove.  The  journey  is  too  long  and 
too  arduous  to  be  encountered  without  good 
cheer.  I  need  a  draught  of  joy  before  starting ; 
I  want  a  stimulus  of  the  heart  to  help  me  on. 
I  would  faint  by  the  way  if  I  did  not  get  bread 
before  leaving.  Therefore,  O  Spirit,  I  bless 
Thee  that  first  of  all  there  has  come  the  beatific 
vision,  that  Thou  hast  shown  me  the  crown  of 
glory  before  the  crown  of  thorns.  The  bright- 
ness of  Thy  morning  shall  keep  me  all  the  day. 
It  shall  keep  me  through  the  cloud  and  the  cold  ; 
it  shall  keep  me  mid  the  burden  and  the  care ; 
it  shall  keep  me  in  the  labour  and  the  strife. 
It    shall    lift    nie    up    in    the   depression   of   the 


THE  FIRST  MESSAGE  OF  THE  SITRFr.        195 

valley  ;  it  shall  hold  mc  erect  in  the  monotony 
of  the  plain ;  it  shall  make  me  calm  on  the 
billows  of  the  sea.  I  shall  walk  aloft  through 
the  storm  when  I  hear  Thy  morning  song  be- 
hind me,  and  the  yoke  of  toil  shall  be  easy  when 
I  remember  Thy  promise  in  the  dawn. 


LXXX. 
Zbc  IRnit^  of  tbe  Sptvit 

'For  througl)  Him  we  both  have  access   by  one  Spirit  unto  the 
Father." — Eph.  ii.  i8. 

•^'^^'^^ND  SO  there  may  be  a  union  amidst  the 
utmost  difference  of  views.  What 
difference  of  opinion  could  be  so 
great  as  that  between  Jew  and  Gentile ;  they 
were  the  poles  of  religious  thought.  Yet  Paul 
says  that  in  the  sight  of  God  these  might  be 
esteemed  the  worshippers  in  one  common  temple, 
"we  both  have  access  by  one  Spirit  unto  the 
Father."  What  is  that  one  Spirit  which  in  spite 
of  diverse  forms  and  features  can  make  us  in 
God's  eye  one  family  still  ?  It  is  the  life  of 
sacrifice,  of  self-forgctfulness,  of  brotherhood ; 
that  is  the  Spirit  of  our  Father.  Paul  says  that 
if  we  have  that  Spirit  we  are  Christians  though 
oceans  of  thought  lie  between  us.  I  may  call 
myself  a  follower  of  Cephas,  and  you  may  call 
5'ourself  a  follower  of  Apollos,  but  if  we  have 
taken   up  the  cross  of  the  great   Burdenbearcr 


I    1, 


THE  UNITY  OF  THE  SPHilT,  197 

there  is  in  heaven's  sight  no  more  sea ;  we  stand 
hand  in  hand  before  the  judgment  seat  of  Christ ; 
through  Him  we  both  have  access  to  the  heart 
of  tlic  Father. 

Spirit  of  the  cross,  Spirit  of  the  Son  of  man, 
let  our  rival  sects  and  parties  be  united  in  Thee. 
We  are  postponing  our  union  until  we  come  into 
the  unity  of  the  faith  ;  that  is  not  Thy  method. 
Thou  callcst  us  to  the  unity  of  love — love  in 
spite  of  intellectual  difference,  love  independent 
of  contrary  opinions.  My  brother  and  I  cannot 
agree  about  the  name  we  should  give  to  Thy 
light ;  may  we  not  shake  hands  without  such 
agreement  ?  Is  not  Thy  light  beautiful  called 
by  any  name,  called  by  no  name  ?  We  are 
agrv_ed  about  Thy  beauty  and  about  the  love  of 
Thy  beauty  ;  unite  us  in  that  love.  Unite  us 
in  the  love  for  man  as  man,  in  the  sympathy  for 
those  wants  which  are  universal  because  they 
are  human.  Unite  us  in  the  sorrow  for  the 
sorrowful,  in  the  heaviness  for  the  burdened,  in 
the  perplexity  for  those  that  have  lost  their  way. 
Unite  us  on  the  road  to  Galilee,  on  the  mission 
to  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death.  Unite  us 
in  the  pity  for  the  poor,  in  the  distress  for  the 
desolate,  in  the  help  for  the  homeless,  in  the 
succour  for  the  sinful.  Then  can  we  afford  to 
W'ait  for  the  unity  of  the  faith.  Then  can  we 
postpone  our  difrerenccs  about  the  name  we  shall 


198  THE  UNITY  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

give  to  Thy  light,  for  Thine  unnamed  light 
shall  itself  be  our  guide,  and  the  glory  of  its 
sacrificial  flame  shall  lead  us  both  into  the 
presence  of  the  Father. 


LXXXI. 

ZTbe  Scat  of  tbe  Spirit 

"  Strengtliened  with  might  by  His  Spirit  in  the  inner  man." 

— Eph.  iii.  i6. 

^^^^^tl  AUL'S  great  solicitude  is  for  theiimcrman : 

U  ISr/l  ^^  ^^  c^"  '^'^^y  8"^^  ^^^^^  strengthened 
»*^«^^^^  he  feels  that  his  work  is  done.  And 
he  is  right.  The  inner  man  is  the  metropoh's, 
the  capital,  the  chief  city  ;  all  the  provinces  take 
their  tone  from  there.  No  man  must  begin 
with  the  provinces  i[  he  wants  to  make  his 
fortune.  In  vain  you  adorn  the  body,  in  vain 
you  amass  the  gold,  in  vain  you  seek  the  sights 
and  sounds  of  beauty  ;  the  capital  is  the  heart, 
and  if  the  fashion  of  the  heart  be  sombre,  the 
whole  is  sad.  But  if  the  fashion  of  the  heart 
be  bright,  I  have  no  fear  for  the  provinces ; 
these  will  soon  follow.  The  body  may  be 
meanly  clad,  the  gold  may  be  scarce  and  dim, 
the  sights  and  sounds  of  beauty  may  be  shut 
out  by  lane  and  alley,  but  if  in  the  heart  there 
be  voices  of  laughter,  they  will  fill  all  the  land. 
If  there  be  songs   in  the  metropolis,  I  shall  not 


THE  SEAT  OF  THE  SPH^uT. 


be  able  to  keep  down  my  singing.  I  shall  sing 
through  all  the  provinces ;  I  shall  sing  in  the 
cold  and  in  the  snow ;  I  shall  sing  in  the  dark 
and  in  the  rain  ;  1  shall  sing  amid  my  struggles 
for  daily  bread.  The  life  of  joy  is  everywhere 
when  there  is  gladness  in  the  inner  man. 

Therefore,  Thou  divine  Spirit,  I  come  to 
Thee.  I  want  to  have  my  youth  renewed 
within — at  the  heart.  I  know  that  the  heart 
should  be  ever  young,  but  mine  is  old ;  and 
because  my  heart  is  old  the  whole  tree  of  life 
is  withered.  Often  have  I  pondered  these 
words  of  Thine,  "  If  the  salt  have  lost  its 
savour,  wherewith  shall  it  be  salted," — if  the 
Jicart  be  old,  if  the  principle  of  youth  itself  be 
withered,  what  can  make  us  young  ?  Thou,  O 
Spirit,  Thou  canst  give  me  back  my  youtli ; 
Thou  canst  restore  my  soul.  The  pastures  are 
as  green  as  ever,  the  waters  are  as  quiet  as  of 
yore,  but  the  withering  of  my  soul  has  robbed 
them  of  their  morning's  glow.  Renew  the 
sunshine  of  my  heart;  renew  the  childhood  of 
my  spirit.  Give  me  back  the  freshness  of  tlie 
inward  Spring — the  buoyant  expectation  of  to- 
morrow, the  quenchless  hope  of  the  good  time 
coming.  Restore  me  the  elastic  bound  that" 
sorrow  could  not  keep  down,  the  lightness  that 
burdens  could  not  crush,  the  ardour  that  cold- 
ness could  not   cool.      Then   shall  the  pastures 


THE  SEAT  OF  THE  SPH^IT. 


grow  green  again  ;  then  shall  the  waters  ripple 
peace  once  more,  for  the  new  creature  shall 
make  the  new  creation,  and  the  restoration  of 
the  soul  shall  be  the  restitution  of  all  things. 
My  strength  shall  be  renewed  like  the  eagle's 
when  Thou  has  strengthened  my  inner  man. 


LXXXII. 

XTbc  6i1et  or  tbe  Spidt 

"Grieve  not  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God." — Eph.  iv,  30. 

'f^^'^rftS  then  grief  a  divine  thing?  I  thought 
r|?|  it  was  something  for  the  slave — a  mark 
'^^  of  iViiilty,  a  sign  of  poverty.  Nay,  but 
there  is  a  grief  which  can  only  belong  to  rich 
natures,  which  is  incompatible  with  the  poor  and 
mean.  There  is  a  sorrow  which  can  only  be 
felt  by  love — a  sorrow  which  increases  as  a  man 
grows  in  love.  There  are  tears  which  divine 
communion  wipes  from  the  eyes,  but  there  are 
other  tears  which  it  causes  to  gather  there. 
Love,  divine  love,  lifts  me  into  a  new  pain — its 
own  pain.  It  makes  me  sensitive  to  impres- 
sions of  sadness  from  which  yesterday  I  was 
free.  It  shows  me  coldness  where  I  felt  no- 
thing but  warmth,  darkness  where  I  saw  no- 
thing but  light,  deadness  where  I  witnessed 
only  the  pulsations  of  life.  It  reveals  spots  in 
the  sun,  stains  in  the  snow,  impurities  in  the 
fountain,   discords    in   the   lark's   song.      It    lays 


THE  GRIEF  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  203 

on  mc  as  on  my  Lord  the  burden  of  human 
sin,  and  it  tells  me  by  a  kindred  experience 
that  He  grieved  because  He  was  divine. 

Spirit  of  the  Holiest,  whose  perfect  love 
opens  Thy  heart  to  the  greatest  sorrow,  let 
not  me  add  to  Thy  grief.  Thou  hast  wounds 
enough  to  bear  without  receiving  one  from  me. 
It  is  divine  in  Thee  to  suffer,  but  it  is  undivine 
in  me  to  make  Thee  suffer.  Instead  of  griev- 
ing Thee,  could  I  not  help  Thee  to  bear?  Is 
there  no  work  that  we  might  do  together,  are 
there  no  labours  that  we  might  perform  side  by 
side  ?  Is  there  no  sorrow  of  Thy  heart  which 
I  could  make  a  sorrow  of  my  heart  ?  Is  there 
no  interest  in  Thee  which  could  become  my 
interest  ?  Is  there  no  care  in  Thy  life  which 
I  might  be  permitted  to  call  my  care  ?  I  am 
told  that  I  am  to  be  a  sharer  in  Thy  gladness, 
"  Enter  ye  into  the  joy  of  your  Lord."  But  is 
not  Thy  joy  just  the  redemption  from  Thy 
grief?  Thy  joy  is  humanity  redeemed ;  Thy 
grief  is  humanity  in  chains.  How  shall  I 
rejoice  with  Thy  laughter  if  I  do  not  weep  with 
Thy  groaning ;  how  shall  I  reign  with  Thee  if  I 
have  not  first  suffered  with  Thee  ?  I  shall  be 
made  glad  with  Thy  rapture  according  as  the 
days  have  been  wherein  I  have  been  afflicted 
with  Thy  sorrow ;  let  me  not  grieve  Thee  but 
share  Thy  grief. 


LXXXIII. 

XLhc  Supplications  of  tbe  Spirit 

Praying  always  with  all  prayer  and  supplication  in  the  Spirit." 

— Ern.  vi.   i8, 

^RAYING  always  with  all  prayer;"  one 
would  think  the  command  was  un- 
qualified. Yet  it  is  not.  I  am  not 
to  ask  everything  indiscriminately.  There  is 
a  limit  within  which  my  desires  are  to  wander. 
I  am  not  to  be  allowed  the  answer  to  "  all 
prayer,"  but  to  "  all  prayer  in  the  Spirit." 
The  man  of  science  tells  me  that  I  must  not 
ask  anything  that  is  at  variance  with  the  law  of 
nature.  The  order  of  the  Spirit  is  the  law  of 
Cocfs  nature,  and  it  is  an  absolute  law.  I  must 
not  seek  to  change  it,  I  dare  not  desire  to 
violate  it,  for  it  is  without  variableness  or  the 
least  shadow  of  turning.  The  order  of  God's 
Spirit  is  the  law  of  love ;  to  pray  in  God's 
Spirit  is  to  desire  in  conformity  with  love.  If 
I  ask  that  which  is  not  conformable  to  God's 
nature,  I    am   like   the  child   that  cries   for  the 


THE  SUrrLICATIONS  OF  THE  SPIRIT.       205 

moon ;  I  want  to  put  asunder  what  God  has 
joined  together.  The  overture  to  all  prayer 
must  be  "  Thy  will  be  done ; "  no  man  can 
sing  the  song  of  supplication  who  has  pitched 
his  voice  upon  a  lower  key.  My  Father 
measures  distance  not  by  space  but  by  sym- 
pathy ;  my  voice  shall  He  hear  in  the  morning 
if  I  ask  "  in  the  Spirit." 

Lord,  teach  me  to  pray.  Teach  me  that  form 
of  prayer  which  marks  the  boundaries  within 
which  I  ma}^  ask  of  Thee.  Teach  me  to  desire 
that  by  which  Thy  name  shall  be  hallowed, 
to  seek  that  which  shall  hasten  Thy  Kingdom, 
to  wish  that  which  shall  be  consistent  with 
Thy  will.  Teach  me  before  all  things  to  say 
"  our  Father."  I  sometimes  forget  that  I 
have  a  brother,  forget  that  he  has  wants 
common  with  my  own.  I  sometimes  lose 
the  remembrance  that  the  satisfaction  of  my 
want  may  mean  the  impoverishment  of  my 
brother ;  I  say,  "  Give  me  this  day  my  daily 
bread."  Restore  to  me,  O  divine  Love,  the 
memory  of  Thy  cross.  Restore  to  me  the 
fading  sense  of  Thy  kingdom.  Thy  power. 
Thy  glory.  Remind  me  that  Thy  kingdom 
is  service,  that  Thy  power  is  sacrifice,  that 
Thy  glory  is  humanity  redeemed.  Revive 
within  me  the  sympathy  that  feels  another's 
pain,  the  charity    that   weaves   another's  hope, 


206        THE  SUl  PLICATIONS  OF  THE  SPIRIT 

the  love  that  participates  in  another's  joy.  Let 
me  cease  to  thank  Thee  that  I  am  not  as  other 
men  ;  my  prayer  shall  become  Thy  prayer  when 
I  shall  ask  through  Thy  Spirit. 


LXXXIV. 

Ube  ffellowsbip  of  tbe  Spirit 

If  there  be  finy  fellowship  of  the  Spirit,  fulfil  ye  my  joy." 

— Phil.  ii.  i,  2. 

ND  SO  Paul's  ideal  of  joy  was  fellowship. 
He  did  not  wish  to  be  a  recluse,  a 
hermit,  a  solitary  dreamer ;  he  wanted 
to  be  a  man  of  society.  The  world  has  claimed 
a  monopoly  of  the  social  element ;  it  offers  the 
youth  what  it  calls  good-fellowship.  Why, 
that  is  just  Paul's  word,  just  Paul's  offer. 
"  The  fellowship  of  the  Spirit ;  "  what  is  that 
but  good-fellowship — the  fellowship  of  good- 
ness ?  Paul  is  impressed  with  the  analogy 
between  the  good-fellowship  of  the  world  and 
the  fellowship  of  the  saints  :  "  Be  not  drunk  with 
wine,"  he  cries,  "  but  be  ye  filled  with  the 
Spirit."  What  does  he  mean  ?  is  there  any 
connection  between  them  ?  Yes  ;  they  are  both 
forms  of  self-forgetfulness.  Wine  litis  me  out 
of  my  care  and  causes  me  to  laugh  with  others  ; 
the    Spirit    also    lifts    me    out    of   my    care   and 


2o8  THE  FELLOWSHIP  OF  THE  SFIRIT. 

makes  me  a  companion  at  the  feast.  God's 
wine,  like  the  world's  wine,  drowns  the  dark- 
ness of  my  past,  but  it  drowns  it  net  in  oblivion 
but  in  glory.  It  shows  me  the  vision  of  a  past 
redeemed — of  dross  transmuted  into  gold,  of  evil 
made  to  work  for  good  ;  it  lifts  the  weight  from 
my  soul  and  makes  me  comrade  to  ni}'  brother 
man. 

O  Thou  who  settcst  the  solitary  in  families, 
help  me  to  break  the  loneliness  of  my  own  soul. 
That  which  makes  my  soul  solitary  is  the  weight 
of  its  past  remembrance.  I  am  no  companion 
for  others,  because  I  am  in  conmiunion  with  my 
own  cares.  Hast  Thou  an  elixir  of  self-forget- 
fulness  ?  Hast  Thou  a  potion  that  can  set  me 
free  without  degrading  me?  Hast  Thou  a 
remedy  for  care  which  can  destro}^  the  care 
without  killing  the  life  ?  Yes,  Thou  and  Thou 
alone  hast  such  a  cure.  Thy  Spirit  can  give 
me  rest — rest  from  myself.  Thy  Spirit  can  lift 
the  burden  from  the  door  that  prevents  my 
brother  from  entering  in.  Send  me  Thy  Spirit, 
O  my  God.  Take  away  the  depression  that 
makes  me  seek  the  shade.  Give  me  the  light- 
ness of  heart  that  craves  companionship,  the  joy 
that  longs  to  tell  itself,  the  buoyancy  that  cannot 
be  alone.  Give  me  that  need  for  brotherhood 
which  disencumbered  souls  alone  can  feel,  that 
joy  in   human    intercourse  which  only  hearts  at 


TIIF.  FELLOWSHIP  OF  TME  SPIRIT.  209 

rest  can  know.  Apart  from  Thcc  I  have  been 
wandering  in  a  solitary  way,  but  the  days  of 
good-fellowship  shall  come  when  1  have  received 
Thy  Spirit. 


LXXXV. 

XTbe  Xove  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"Who  also  declared  unto  us  your  love  in  the  Spirit." 

— COLOSSIANS  1.  8, 

^■J^OVE   in   the    Spirit,"  what    is    that?      It 

^i  i^?^')-!.  ^^  '■^^^  <^'i''ly  thing  worth  having  in 
^'^^^^^^^^^^  human  affection.  It  is  the  love  the  of 
inner  as  distinguished  from  the  love  of  the  outer 
man.  There  is  a  love  which  is  not  spiritual ; 
it  rests  on  the  beauty  of  the  form,  and  with  the 
beauty  of  the  form  it  fades  away.  It  comes 
to  the  Son  of  man  when  He  is  feeding  the 
multitude  with  bread,  but  it  leaves  Him  alone 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Cross.  But  spiritual 
love  is  impervious  to  shadow.  It  comes  not 
because  the  leaves  are  green,  and  therefore  it 
goes  not  when  the  leaves  are  seared  and  yellow. 
It  pays  its  homage  to  the  soul  as  a  soul— sees 
its  royalty  amid  rags,  detects  its  greatness  amid 
ruins.  It  will  find  the  Son  of  man  in  the  dark 
and  cold  of  the  sepulchre  and  anoint  Him  there 
with    the   myrrh    and    aloes.      It    will    find    the 


THE  LOVE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


apostle  of  the  Gentiles  in  the  meanness  and 
degradation  of  a  Roman  dungeon  and  will 
recognise  in  him  a  perfect  beauty  though  iiis 
bodily  presence  were  weak  and  his  speecli 
contemptible.  Well  might  Paul  reverence  that 
form  of  devotion  which  he  calls  "  love  in  the 
Spirit." 

"  Love  in  the  Spirit,"  be  this,  O  Lord,  my 
love  for  Thee.  Let  me  love  Thee  for  what 
Thou  art,  not  for  what  Thou  givcst.  There 
are  times  in  which  Thou  givest  nothing.  There 
are  seasons  in  which  we  tarry  in  the  wilderness 
all  night  and  have  no  bread.  Why  dost  Thou 
not  always  multiply  the  loaves  ?  It  is  because 
Thou  longest  to  be  loved  "  in  the  Spirit,"  loved 
for  Thyself  alone.  Let  me  abide  with  Thee  in 
the  desert  when  there  is  no  bread.  I  came  to 
Thee  when  Thou  wert  loading  me  with  benefits  ; 
let  me  stay  with  Thee  when  Thou  hast  taken 
Thy  benefits  away.  I  came  to  Thee  when  the 
multitude  cried  "  hosannah ; "  let  me  remain 
with  Thee  after  they  have  shouted  "  crucify." 
I  came  to  Thee  when  Thy  way  was  strewn 
with  palm-leaves ;  let  me  linger  with  Thee 
when  Thy  brow  is  wreathed  with  thorns. 
Teach  me  to  feel  that  the  wilderness  kuIIi  Thee 
is  better  than  the  garden  w'ithout  Thee,  that 
famine  by  Thy  side  outweighs  plent}'  where 
Thou    art    not    near.      Then    shall    I    know   the 


THE  LOVE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 


peace  that  passeth  understanding — the  peace 
which  the  world  cannot  take  away.  The  loss 
ot  Thy  gilts  will  not  break  my  joy  when  I  have 
learned  to  love  Thyself — to  love  Thee  in  the 
Spirit. 


LXXXVI. 

TTbe  Qucucbiiuj  ot  tbc  Spirit, 

"Quench  not  tlic  Spirit. "^i  Thess.  v.  19. 

^^^^t^IIERE  is  a  thirst  which  ought  not  to  be 
mW^      quenched— the   thirst   for    God.      It  is 


hke  no  other  tliirst  in  the  world.  Other 
thirsts  are  quenched  when  they  meet  their  object, 
but  the  thirst  for  God  will  be  quenched  if"  it  does 
nuf  meet  its  object.  Wlien  the  hart  pants  after 
the  waterbrooks  its  panting  is  allayed  by  tasting 
of  the  waterbrooks,  but  the  panting  of  my  soul 
for  God  is  kept  alive  by  tasting  of  God.  If  I 
do  not  taste  of  God  I  shall  cease  to  thirst  for 
Him  ;  the  Spirit  will  be  quenched.  Why  is  it 
written,  "  Blessed  are  they  that  hunger  and  thirst 
after  righteousness "  ?  It  is  because  in  the 
spiritual  world  it  is  the  rich  and  not  the  poor 
that  hunger.  It  is  because  the  aspirations  of  the 
soul,  unlike  the  wants  of  the  body,  are  created 
by  the  things  that  feed  them,  increase  with  our 
abundance  and  intensify  with  our  fulness.  To 
allay  f/ial  hunger  is  to  become  poor  ;   to  still  that 


214  THE  QUENCHING  OF  THE  SPHUT. 

craving    is    to    grow    destitute ;    to  quench   that 
thirst  is  to  sink  into  a  pauper's  grave. 

O  Thou  for  whom  I  pant  as  the  hart  panteth 
for  the  waterbrooks,  keep  ahve  the  thirst  of  my 
soul.  Thy  Spirit  in  me  is  my  thirst  for  Thee ; 
let  me  not  quench  that  Spirit.  I  fear  to  lose  the 
thirst  for  Thee  through  disuse  of  Thee.  I  fear 
that  the  craving  may  subside  by  abstaining  too 
long  from  the  living  waters.  Bring  me  to  the 
waters,  O  my  God.  Let  me  drink  once  of  the 
river  of  Thy  pleasures — not  that  I  may  thirst 
no  more,  but  that  I  may  thirst  no  more  for  any 
lower  tiling.  Not  to  lose  the  desire  of  Thee 
do  I  come  to  Thee ;  I  come  to  have  it  deepened. 
]  have  read  of  a  worm  that  dicth  not  and  of  a 
fire  that  is  not  quenched  ;  but  I  know  a  fire  that 
is  not  quenched  where  the  worm  does  die.  It  is 
the  fire  of  Thy  love,  my  Father,  the  insatiate 
longing  of  my  heart  for  Thee.  Only  in  tliat 
endless  flame  shall  the  worm  of  my  care  be 
made  to  die;  only  in  that  mighty  thirst  shall 
tlie  power  of  all  other  thirsts  be  allayed.  The 
worm  of  my  care  comes  back  because  finite  joys 
grow  dim  ;  it  shall  be  consumed  for  evermore  in 
that  joy  whose  every  height  reveals  new  heights 
to  come.  I  shall  find  peace  from  my  own 
torments  in  that  fire  of  Thine  which  cannot  be 
quenched. 


LXXXVII. 

tibc  Sacrifice  ot  the  Spirit. 

"  Who  through  the  ttcrnal  Spirit  offered  himself." 

—  HEBRIiVVS  ix.  14. 

pj^^FFERED  Himself  through  the  Spirit;" 
|{^i)|  surely  a  strange  mode  of  sacrifice.  I 
*^f=^*^  would  have  expected  it  to  have  been 
said  that  Christ  offered  Hiniseh"  through  the 
pains  of  the  flesh.  Nay,  but  in  God's  sight 
this  was  not  His  oiTering.  The  deepest  part  of 
His  sacrifice  was  invisible  ,  it  was  the  surrcnciLr 
of  His  will.  The  gift  which  He  presented  to 
the  Father  was  not  His  pain  but  Himself — His 
willingness  to  suffer.  What  the  Father  loved 
was  rather  the  painlessness  than  the  pain.  He 
delighted  not  so  much  in  His  sacrifice  as  in  the 
joy  of  His  sacrifice.  It  was  offered  "  through 
the  Spirit."  It  was  not  wrung  out  from  a 
reluctant  soul  through  obedience  to  an  outward 
law  ;  it  came  from  the  inner  heart — from  the 
impulse  of  undying  love.  It  v/as  a  completed 
offering   before  Calvaiy  began  ;   it  was   seen    by 


2\6  THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

the  Father  before  it  was  seen  by  the  world. 
It  was  finished  in  the  spirit  ere  it  began  in 
the  flesh — finished  in  that  hour  in  which  the 
Son  of  man  exclaimed,  "  Not  as  I  will,  but  as 
Thou  wilt."  Man  had  to  see  the  pain  of  His 
body  ;  God  was  satisfied  when  "  He  poured  out 
His  soul." 

Even  so,  my  brother,  is  it  with  thee.  There 
are  times  in  which  thou  art  impotent  for  all 
outward  work,  times  in  which  thou  canst  offer 
no  bodily  sacrifice.  Thine  may  be  the  path  of 
obscurity  ;  thine  may  be  the  season  of  penury  ; 
thine  may  be  the  road  apart  from  the  world's 
highway.  Thine  may  be  the  delicate  frame  that 
cannot  run  for  God  because  it  must  rest  fur 
sustenance  ;  there  may  be  nothing  for  thee  to 
do  but  to  look  on  and  wish  that  thou  couldst 
serve.  Yes,  but  canst  thou  do  that?  Is  this 
wish  indeed  thine  ?  Then  thy  Father  sees  thy 
sacrifice  completed.  It  is  not  yet  offered  in  the 
body,  but  it  is  offered  "  through  the  eternal 
Spirit."  Like  the  sacrifice  of  Abraham  it  is 
accepted  in  its  inwardness.  Thou  hast  brought 
up  thy  gift  to  Mount  Moriah  and  hast  laid  it 
there  before  the  Lord — laid  it  open  in  thy  heart, 
uncovered  on  the  front  of  thy  bosom.  Thy 
Father  sees  it  there  and  holds  it  already  given. 
He  accepts  the  offering  of  thy  will  as  an  offering 
of  thy  gift.      He  asks  not  the   blood  of  Isaac 


THE  SACRIFICE  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  217 

when  lie  has  seen  the  blood  of  Abraham.  He 
counts  thy  faith  unto  thee  for  lighteousness, 
thy  devotion  unto  thee  for  deed,  for  He  knows 
that  the  sacrifice  which  lags  behind  in  the  flesh 
has  been  oflered  ah'eady  in  the  eternal  Spirit. 


LXXXVIII. 

XLbc  penalties  of  tbe  Spirit. 

"  He  that  despised  Moses'  law  died  without  mercy,  under  two  or 
three  witnesses  :  of  how  much  sorer  punishment  shall  he  be  thought 
worthy,  who  hath  done  despite  unto  the  Spirit  of  grace." 

—  Hebkews  X.  28,  29. 

^^°^iHE  thought  is  that  there  is  no  penalty 
V^  r^'  so  great  as  the  punishment  inflicted  by 
?^^^  the  Spirit.  If  I  am  only  convicted  by 
outward  witnesses,  it"  1  do  not  leel  tlie  pain 
irom  within,  it  is  only  my  body  that  sullers. 
but  if  1  am  convictL-d  by  the  witness  of  my 
own  heart,  if  I  am  confronted  by  the  stings 
ol  a  violated  conscience,  my  punishment  is  sore 
indeed.  There  is  no  pain  like  spiritual  pain  ; 
there  is  no  spiritual  pain  like  the  sense  of 
h.axing  done  wrong.  If  I  have  outraged  the 
Liw  of  love  in  my  own  soul,  it  is  no  solace  to 
irie  that  there  are  not  outward  witnesses  of  my 
deed.  It  is  no  consolation  to  me  that  eye  hath 
not  seen  it,  that  ear  hath  not  heard  it,  that 
visible  tribunal  shall  not  avenge  it.  It  is  the 
reverse  ;    if  I    could   only    get   outward    punish- 


THE  PENALTIES  OF  THE  SPIRIT.  219 

nicnt  it  would  be  a  relief.  Why  have  men 
in  all  ages  sought  penance  ?  Why  have 
they  wounded  themselves,  lacerated  themselves, 
starved  themselves  ?  It  is  that  thereby  they 
may  avert  the  greater  penalty — the  stroke  of  a 
wounded  conscience.  Not  by  accident  is  it 
written  that  the  first  punishment  was  not 
physical.  Why  is  no  man  suffered  to  kill 
Cain  ?  It  is  to  teach  the  world  at  the  be- 
ginning that  the  penalties  of  the  Spirit  are  in 
God's  sight  heavier  than  the  penalties  of  the 
Law. 

My  soul,  is  there  any  escape  for  thee  ? 
The  stroke  of  the  outer  law  was  sharp  but  it 
was  shortlived  ;  one  brief  pain  and  all  was  over. 
But  the  remorse  for  deeds  misdone  :  can  there 
be  any  end  to  that  ?  Yes,  there  can.  There 
is  One  who  has  been  coming  up  behind  thee, 
lifting  the  crosses  thou  hast  left  by  the  wayside. 
There  is  One  who  has  been  gathering  thy  mis- 
deeds into  His  kingdom  and  making  thcni 
work  for  good.  There  is  One  who  has  been 
not  only  forgiving  thy  past,  not  only  cancelling 
thy  past,  but  atoning  for  thy  past.  The  crosses 
left  by  thee  on  the  wayside  have  not  merely 
been  lifted,  but  have  been  beaten  into  the  steps 
of  a  golden  ladder  on  which  the  world  instead 
of  stumbling  shall  rise ;  the  dungeon  thou 
madest  for  Joseph   has  become  the  road  to  his 


220  THE  PENALTIES  OF  THE  SPH^IT. 

throne.  Wouldst  thou  have  thy  past  un- 
spoken ?  Wouldst  thou  have  thy  deeds  un- 
done ?  Wouldst  thou  have  the  sense  of  being 
a  child  again — with  the  page  still  to  write, 
the  race  still  to  run,  the  road  still  to  traverse  ? 
Come  then  to  Him  who  crucifies  thy  misspent 
years.  Come  to  Him  who  beats  thy  sword  into 
a  ploughshare,  thy  spear  into  a  pruning  hook. 
Come  to  Him  who  maketh  the  wrath  of  the 
wicked  to  praise  Him.  Come  to  Him  who 
turns  the  Vv^ater  of  the  past  into  wine  and  tells 
thee  thou  art  born  anew.  The  penalties  of  the 
outraged  Spirit  shall  be  crucified  on  the  bosom 
of  the  Son  of  man. 


LXXXIX. 

Ube  Sauctification  of  the  Spirit, 

"Through  sanctification  of  the  Spirit,  unto  obedience  and  sprink- 
ling of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ." — i  Peter  i,  2. 

^^^;  HERE  are  two  stages  of  sanctilicatioa 
l-'^r^  — the  obedience  to  Christ  and  the 
*fiii3»^»  sprinkling  with  the  l>/ood  of  Christ. 
That  is  ever  the  order  of  the  Spirit.  We  begin 
with  compulsion  from  without  and  we  end  with 
impulsion  from  within  ;  we  begin  with  imposed 
service  and  we  end  with  sacrificial  love.  So 
was  it  with  the  man  who  wrote  these  words  ; 
Peter  was  drawing  from  his  own  experience. 
There  was  a  time  when  he  thought  the  stage 
of  obedience  was  the  only  stage.  "  Bid  me  that 
I  come  to  Thee  on  the  waters,"  he  cries ;  he 
thought  that  the  virtue  of  the  act  lay  in  the 
struggle  it  would  cost  him  to  do  it.  "  How  oft 
shall  my  brother  sin  against  me  and  I  forgiv^e 
him?"  he  wanted  an  arithmetical  command 
which  he  could  count  and  keep  like  the  books 
of  his   fisherman's  craft.      And    his    Lord   gave 


222      THE  SANCTIFICATTON  OF  THE  SPIRIT. 

him  a  command  which  was  not  arithmetical — 
the  sprinkhng  of  the  blood.  He  gave  him  His 
own  spirit  of  sacrifice,  His  own  love  of  humanity, 
His  own  necessity  to  give  Himself.  Hence- 
ibrth,  it  became  impossible  to  count  the  com- 
mands of  duty ;  the  sprinkh'ng  of  the  blood 
means  love  and  the  demand  of  love  is  infinite. 
It  is  not  measured  by  numbers ;  it  is  not 
bounded  by  precepts ;  it  is  not  defined  by 
statutes ;  it  is  not  compassed  by  laws.  Its 
measurement  is  life ;  its  requirement  is  the 
whole  life  ;  its  boundary  is  the  end  of  life ;  its 
climax  is  the  fulness  of  life  ;  it  is  exhausted 
only  in  the  sprinkling  of  the  last  blood. 

O  Thou  Divine  Spirit,  that  hast  led  this 
world  over  the  face  of  the  waters  into  the  haven 
of  peace,  lead  my  soul  from  the  tossing  of 
enforced  obedience  into  the  rest  of  a  surren- 
dered will.  Sprinkle  me  with  the  blood,  the 
sacrificial  love  of  Jesus.  Give  me  His  divine 
necessity  to  suffer — the  necessity  of  love.  Impel 
me  to  bear  my  brother's  cross  by  obedience 
from  zviihin,  by  submission  to  the  dictates  of 
the  pit3ang  heart.  Translate  me  into  the  new 
bondage — the  bondage  that  makes  me  free,  the 
golden  chain  of  love.  Lift  me  into  the  new 
service — the  service  that  makes  me  master,  the 
devotion  to  a  pure  desire.  Raise  me  into  the 
new  lav/ — the  law  that  makes  me  dead  to  force 


THE  SANCTIFICATION  OF  THE  SPHUT.       2-3 

and  fear,  the  libcit}'  of  a  spirit  whose  will  is 
Thy  will.  I  shall  help  my  Lord  to  bear  His 
cross  when  I  have  passed  from  outward  obedi- 
ence into  the  sprinkling:  of  His  blood. 


xc. 
XTbe  XTcst  of  tbc  SpUit's  BbtMitoncss, 

"And  ho  that  kcepcth  His  commanrlmonts  dwelleth  in  Hiin,  and 
He  in  him  ;  and  hereby  we  knew  that  He  ahideth  in  us  by  the 
Spirit  which  He  hath  given  us." — i  John  iii.  24. 

[I  have  ventured  to  alter  the  punctuation  both  of  the  Authorised 
and  of  the  Revised  Version.] 

r^-^HE  most  beautiful  thine;  to  St.  John  was 
ypniS'l  abidmgness.  rcter  was  a  man  of 
•iMis^^-^  gleams  and  flashes ;  he  liked  to  walk 
upon  the  waves.  But  John's  ideal  of  happiness 
was  lying  on  the  bosom ;  he  was  a  man  of 
the  even  way,  a  man  of  rest.  He  valued  not 
the  momentary  flash ;  he  trusted  not  the  in- 
stantaneous gleam  ;  he  wanted  an  abiding  calm 
for  morning,  noon  and  night.  And  he  said  that 
he  had  found  it  ;■  he  professed  to  have  secured 
on  the  Master's  bosom  a  place  for  ever.  What 
was  his  evidence  for  this  bold  claim  ?  How 
did  he  know  that  Christ  was  abiding  in  him 
by  that  Spirit  which  He  had  given  ?  Was  it 
by  the  increased  power  to  rest?  No;  strange 
to   say,  it  was    b}-  the   increased   power  to  work. 


THE  TEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  ADIDINGNESS.    225 

He  says  that  his  evidence  for  the  Spirit's  rest 
is  the  strength  he  gets  for  unwearied  action  ; 
"  He  that  keepeth  His  commandments  dwelleth 
in  Him."  The  Spirit's  permanence  is  proved 
by  its  activity ;  the  Spirit's  rest  is  recognised 
by  its  v^aking  ;  the  Spirit's  calm  is  vindicated  by 
tlie  storms  that  sweep  over  it  in  vain.  Only- 
he  that  lieth  in  Christ's  bosom  is  able  to  com- 
pass Christ's  work  ;  only  His  Spirit's  rest  will 
help  me  to  keep  His  commandments. 

My  soul,  has  Christ  become  to  thee  an 
abiding  Spirit — a  principle  of  inward  rest  ? 
How  shalt  thou  know  it  ?  Shalt  thou  go  with 
the  Brahman  into  the  wilderness  to  make  thy- 
self still  ?  Shalt  thou  retire  with  the  hermit 
into  the  solitude  to  avoid  the  strife  ?  Shalt 
thou  repair  with  the  mystic  into  the  cloister  to 
be  free  from  noise  ?  That  would  not  be  a 
test  of  Christ's  Spirit  ;  other  spirits  as  well  as 
His  can  abide  there.  It  is  not  in  the  stillness 
but  in  the  thoroughfare  that  thou  must  prove 
the  permanence  of  His  rest,  " //^  that  kcrpcfJi 
His  coiuniavdiucnfs  dwelleth  in  Him."  Wouldst 
thou  know  the  permanence  of  His  presence,  the 
abidingncss  of  His  rest  ?  test  it  by  the  struggles 
of  the  common  day.  Test  it  b}'  thy  courage  in 
danger,  by  thy  fortitude  in  temptation,  by  thy 
strength  in  conflict,  by  thy  calm  in  storm,  by 
thy  patience   in    sorrow,    by    thy    gentleness    in 

p 


226    THE  TEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  ABIDINGNESS. 

rebuke.  Test  it  by  the  justice  of  the  forum, 
by  the  integrity  of  the  counting-house,  by  the 
unity  of  the  family  circle,  b^'  the  brotherhood 
of  human  souls.  Test  it  by  thy  power  to  do 
the  right  in  a  world  where  men  do  the  wrong 
—  to  be  stable  amid  the  wavering,  to  be  stead- 
fast amid  those  that  succumb.  Then  shalt 
thou  have  a  test  which  the  hermit  never  knew, 
for  there  is  nothing  but  inward  rest  that  can 
stand  the  outward  fight  ;  hereby  shalt  thou 
know  His  indwelling,  if  thou  canst  keep  His 
commandments. 


XCI. 
Ube  Zest  of  tbc  Spirit's  (Bcuuiucncss. 

"  Hereby  know  ye  the  Spirit  of  God  :  Every  spirit  that  confesseth 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  come  in  the  flesh  is  of  God." — i  John  iv.  2. 

^^^^HE    test    of   any    spirit's   genuineness    is 
^  my  power  to   feel   its   presence  in  the 


lowliest  things  ;  the  true  artist  proves 
himself  by  the  detection  of  hidden  beauties. 
Even  so,  St.  John  says,  the  test  that  I  have 
the  Spirit  of  God  is  my  power  to  feci  Mis 
presence  in  the  dust.  To  confess  "that  Christ 
has  come  in  the  flesh  "  is  to  love  the  divine 
in  its  garb  of  humiliation.  It  is  to  penetrate 
beneath  the  disguise  and  say,  "Thy  speech 
bewray eth  Thee."  To  confess  His  beauty  in  the 
heavens  docs  not  require  so  pure  a  spiritual 
artist  ;  spirits  less  finely  touched  are  able  to 
do  that.  But  to  confess  Him  "  in  the  flesh," 
where  there  are  no  stars  and  systems,  no 
thunderings  and  lightnings,  no  flashings  and 
gloamings,  where  every  suggestion  points  to 
frailty    and    impotence    and    death — that    is    to 


22S    THE  TEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  GENUINENESS. 

be   God's   artist,  that   is  to  see  the   King  in  His 
beauty. 

O  Thou  who  art  the  altogether  lovely,  give 
me  for  Thy  beauty  an  artist's  soul.  Give  me 
the  power  to  see  that  beauty  even  where  it  tries 
to  hide  itself.  Give  me  that  exquisite  perception 
of  Thy  loveliness  which  can  detect  Thy  love- 
liness even  amid  the  forms  of  the  conmion place. 
Help  me  to  confess  Thee  "  in  the  flesh  " — in  the 
disguise  of  that  which  is  not  beautiful.  I  have 
recognised  Thy  presence  in  things  above  me  ;  I 
have  seen  Thee  in  the  firmament ;  I  have  wor- 
shipped Thee  on  the  mountains  ;  I  have  traced 
Thy  footprints  in  the  tread  of  empires  ;  in  these 
Thou  art  a  God  that  revealest  Thyself  But 
there  are  things  beneath  me  as  well  as  tilings 
above  me  ;  there  is  poverty  and  squalor  and  toil 
and  weariness  and  death.  And  Thou  art  there 
too,  O  my  God ;  there  Thou  art  a  God  that 
hidest  Thyself.  Be  it  mine  to  detect  Thy 
hiding-place  and  unmask  Thee.  Be  it  mine 
to  discover  Thy  beauty  sleeping  in  the  grass, 
Thy  glory  hidden  in  the  dust.  Be  it  mine 
to  track  Thy  warmth  beneath  the  snow,  Thy 
light  below  the  shadow,  Thy  life  amid  the 
grave.  Be  it  mine  to  see  Thy  presence  in 
struggle  and  in  sorrow,  in  labour  and  in  laden- 
ness,  in  Galilee  and  in  Gethsemane.  Then  shall 
I  know  that  I  have  an  artist's  soul  for  Thee  and 


THE  TEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  GENUINENESS.    229 

tliat  tlic  btauty  by  which  I  see  Thee  is  Thine 
own  beauty ;  I  am  partaker  of  Thy  Spirit's 
loveliness  when  I  have  learned  to  worship  it 
"in  the  flesh." 


XCII. 

Ube  trcst  of  tbc  Spirit's  Bbscnce. 

"  These  be  they  who  separate  iheinsclves,  sensual,  having  not 
the  Spirit." — JuUE  19. 

iT^f'^^  HAT  a  strange  use  of  the  word  "  sen- 
?  \'|\'/;|  sual  !  "  I  commonly  limit  the  term 
-*vj.^t>  to  bodily  excess;  to  St.  Judt  that 
is  only  a  symptom.  The  disease  to  him  lies 
deeper — lies  in  the  mind.  tie  says  that  the 
sensual  men  are  the  men  "  who  separate  them- 
selves " —  the  men  who  deny  the  claims  of 
human  brotherhood.  And  truly  he  is  right. 
There  would  be  no  sensuality  in  the  world  if 
tiiere  was  love  of  man  for  man.  Could  the 
drunkard  impoverish  his  household  if  he  had 
not  hrst  killed  his  heart  ?  Could  the  volup- 
tuary wither  the  flower  of  innocence  if  he  had 
not  first  abjured  his  race  ?  No  man  was  ever 
sensual  till  he  became  selfish— separated  himself 
from  sympathy  with  his  kind.  The  test  of  the 
Spirit's   absence   is   the   prodigal's    wish    to   li\e 


THE  TEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  ABSENCE.      231 

alone.  I  do  not  begin  my  life  of  riot  until  I 
have  got  into  the  far  country.  It  is  when  I 
forget  that  humanity  is  a  continent  that  I  begin 
my  life  of  waste.  It  is  when  I  forget  that  in 
God's  sight  "  there  is  no  more  sea,"  that  I 
become  fit  for  the  sustenance  of  the  swine. 
My  spirit  cannot  live  on  an  island  and  be  one 
with  God's  Spirit,  for  the  Spirit  of  God  is 
brotherhood,  and  brotherhood  is  the  continent 
of  souls. 

I  am  weary  of  my  island  life,  O  Spirit ;  it  is 
absence  from  Thee.  I  am  weary  of  the  plea- 
sures spent  upon  myself,  weary  of  that  dividing 
sea  which  makes  me  alone.  I  look  out  upon 
the  monotonous  wav^s  that  roll  between  me 
and  my  brother,  and  I  begin  to  be  in  want ;  I 
long  for  the  time  when  there  shall  be  no  more 
sea.  Lift  me  on  to  the  mainland,  Thou  Spirit 
of  humanity,  unite  my  heart  to  the  brotherhood 
of  human  souls.  Set  my  feet  "  in  a  Large 
room " — in  a  spaoe  where  many  congregate. 
Place  me  on  the  continent  of  human  sympathy 
where  I  can  find  ray  brother  by  night  and  by 
day — where  storms  divide  not,  w^here  waves 
intervene  not,  where  depths  of  downward  dis- 
tance drown  not  love.  Then  shall  the  food  of 
the  far  country  be  swine  husks ;  then  shall 
the  riot  and  the  revel  be  eclipsed  by  a  new 
joy — the  music  and  dancing  of  the  city  of  God. 


232      THE  TEST  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  ABSENCE. 

When  I  have  entered  the  gates  of  the  city  I 
shall  bid  farewell  to  the  wilderness ;  when  I 
have  received  Thy  bond  of  brotlierhood  I  shall 
separate  myself  no  more. 


XCIII. 

tlbe  Spirit  in  patmos. 

I  was  in  tlie  Spirit  on  the  Lord's  Day." — Rev.  i.  lo. 

|^f|P.ONDERFUL  triumph  of  love  !— to  keep 
|\^MM  even  in  Patmos  the  spirit  of  Sabbath 
^^^'^^'^  rest.  He  was  not  only  "  in  the 
Spirit,"  but  he  was  "  in  the  Spirit  on  the  Lord's 
Day" — the  Spirit  in  its  deepest  repose.  But 
what  a  strange  repose  was  that  !  It  was  rest 
amid  storm.  The  Spirit  that  overshadowed 
him  was  brooding  over  the  faec  of  the  waters. 
It  was  an  hour  of  darkness,  an  hour  of  chaos, 
an  hour  of  desolation — yet  he  found  rest, 
Sabbath  rest.  How  can  we  explain  this  ?  Is 
there  any  key  to  the  mystery  of  St.  John's 
peace  in  storm  ?  Yes  ;  we  find  it  on  the  very 
threshold,  "  Behold,  He  comcth  with  clouds." 
All  the  clouds  of  this  world  are  tQ  him  Christ's 
coming  ;  that  is  the  secret  of  his  calm.  How- 
ever dark  life  be,  however  stormy  it  be,  however 
desolate  it  be,  he  feels  that  the  darkness  and 
the    storm    and    the    desolateness    are    steps  of 


234  THE  SPIRIT  IN  PATMOS. 

Christ's  coming,  and  that  in  this  light  one  day 
"  every  eye  shall  see  Him."  It  is  that  which 
keeps  the  seer  of  Patmos  calm — the  knowledge 
that  the  Christ  is  here  now,  and  that  to-morrow 
He  shall  be  proved  to  have  been  here.  Above 
the  sound  of  the  trumpets,  above  the  outpourijig 
of  the  vials,  above  the  voices  and  thundcrings 
and  lightnings  of  human  calamity,  there  floats 
ever  in  his  ear  the  resistless  music  "  the  Lord 
God  omnipotent  reigneth." 

O  Spirit,  let  me  too  hear  that  music,  that 
even  in  Patmos  I  may  have  the  Sabbath  rest. 
Clouds  and  darkness  are  round  about  me ; 
trumpets  are  sounding,  seals  are  opening,  vials 
are  outpouring  their  draughts  of  bitterness. 
But  all  these  are  Thy  chariots,  O  my  God ; 
Thou  makest  the  clouds  Thy  chariots ;  Thou 
coniest  with  clouds.  May  not  I  rest  in  Thy 
chariot  of  clouds  as  Elijah  rested  in  Thy  chariot 
of  fire  ?  May  not  I  ascend  to  heaven  by  the 
same  means  wherewith  Thou  descendest  to  the 
earth  ?  Why  should  I  not  even  in  Patmos 
keep  my  Sabbath  ?  My  love  will  not  be  per- 
fected until  it  can  keep  its  Sabbath  there.  I 
want  to  be  able  to  hear  Thee  moving  on  the 
face  of  my  waters  ;  I  want  to  be  able  to  know 
Thee  behind  my  cloud  and  care.  Mine  is  a 
poor  Sabbath  if  it  does  not  come  after  the 
chaos ;    mine    is    an    unfinished    love    if  it   has 


THE  SPIRIT  IN  PATMOS.  235 

never  lived  in  Patmos.  I  am  not  satisfied  till 
1  can  say  of  my  love  "  it  is  finished."  I  am 
not  content  till  I  can  hear  Thy  footsteps  in  the 
storm.  I  have  not  reached  the  summer  of  my 
soul  until  I  can  meet  Thee  in  the  clouds  of 
heaven  and  say  of  these  clouds  "  It  is  the 
Lord's  day." 


XCIV. 

tCbe  H-lature  of  tbe  Spirit's  IRest 

"Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord  from  henceforth: 
Yea,  saith  the  Spirit,  that  they  may  rest  from  their  labours  ;  and  their 
works  do  follow  them." — Rev.  xiv.  13. 

(HAT  a  strange  contradiction  :  I  would 
have  expected  the  words  to  be  "  they 
rest  from  their  labours  and  their  works 
do  i2ot  follow  them."  Ah  !  but  I  forget  that  this 
is  the  Spirifs  rest,  "  Yea,  saith  the  Spirit." 
When  the  Spirit  says  "  yea,"  I  enter  into  work 
just  because  1  lose  the  sense  of  labour.  The 
Spirit's  "  yea  "  is  love ;  it  is  the  consent  of  the 
will.  It  is  where  my  love  is  weak  that  my 
labour  is  most  burdensome  and  my  work  most 
incomplete.  But  when  I  enter  into  the  Spirit's 
"  yea,"  I  enter  into  a  rest  that  makes  me  strong  ; 
I  forget  the  sense  of  toil,  I  fly  over  the  ground, 
I  bound  across  the  fields  of  duty.  The  rest  of 
the  Spirit  is  always  followed  by  action.  When 
I  lie  down  on  the  bosom  of  God  I  wake  up  to 
my  own  energies.      Why  does   the   Son  of  man 


THE  NATURE  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  REST.        237 

say,  "  I  must  work  the  works  of  Him  that  sent 
me  "  ?  Why,  indeed,  but  because  He  "  is  in  the 
bosom  of  the  Father."  Think  you  that  He 
could  have  borne  so  much  outward  toil  if  it 
liad  not  been  for  His  lulness  of  inward  rest  ? 
Nay  ;  it  was  the  rested  soul  that  made  the  active 
frame  ;  it  was  the  stable  will  that  made  the 
moving  power ;  it  was  the  waveless  heart  that 
bore  upon  its  ocean  breast  the  burdens  of  the 
world.  His  spirit  had  ceased  from  its  labours  ; 
therefore  His  works  followed  Him. 

My  brother,  art  Thou  in  times  of  sorrow 
longing  for  the  rest  of  the  grave  ?  God  desires 
no  such  rest  for  thee.  The  rest  of  the  grave 
is  for  a  body  ;  a  soul  must  have  the  rest  of  the 
Spirit.  Thinkest  thou  that  death  is  to  be  a 
cessation  of  work  ?  Nay  ;  but  only  of  labour. 
That  which  makes  thy  life  a  toil  is  not  thy  work 
but  thy  weariness.  If  thou  couldst  only  cease 
to  be  tired,  thy  works  would  follow  thee  every- 
where. God  offers  thee  in  death  not  less  work 
but  work  more  abundantly — work  that  achieves 
more  because  it  feels  no  strain.  "There  shall 
be  no  night  there  " — no  sense  of  reaction  from 
the  burden  and  heat  of  the  day.  Thine  shall 
be  the  blessedness,  not  of  sleep,  but  of  waking, 
not  of  dreams,  but  of  doing,  not  of  apathy,  but  of 
feeling.  Thine  shall  be  the  blessedness  of  love 
— the  action  of  the   heart.      Thine  shall  be  the 


238        THE  NATURE  OF  THE  SPIRIT'S  REST. 

blessedness  of  ministration — the  labour  of  love. 
Thine  shall  be  the  blessedness  of  having  one 
will  with  the  Divine — the  state  in  which  service 
is  identical  with  liberty,  and  where  obedience 
becomes  the  freeman's  vital  air.  Thou  shalt 
resume  thine  abandoned  works  when  thou  hast 
attained  the  Spirit's  rest. 


xcv. 
trbe  IRaptuve  of  tbe  Spirit 

"And  he  carried  me  away  in  the  Spirit  to  a  great  and  liigh 
mountain,  and  showed  me  that  great  city,  the  holy  Jerusalem, 
descending  out  of  heaven  from  God." — Rev.  xxi.  lo. 

(^rND    SO  we   have   Pis.s^ah   moments   still ! 


0mM^  There  are  times  of  inward  rapture  in 
^'^^^  which  I  am  quite  carried  away — • 
caught  up  to  meet  the  Lord  in  the  air.  Like 
Moses  I  stand  upon  a  great  and  high  mountain, 
and  the  desert  is  forgotten  and  the  promised 
land  is  near.  I  could  not  live  but  for  these 
glints  of  sunshine.  When  the  night  is  very 
dark  and  the  desert  is  very  dreary,  I  say  to 
myself,  "  Remember  what  you  saw  on  the 
mountain ;  you  will  come  out  of  the  desert ; 
there  is  a  city  somewhere."  And  verily  I  am 
right,  my  mountain  moments  are  the  test  of 
what  I  shall  be.  It  matters  not  how  seldom 
they  come ;  if  they  came  only  once,  they  would 
still  predict  the  compass  of  my  wings.  Some- 
times in  the  early  year  you  can  hear  but  the 
note  of  a  single  bird,  and  all  the  rest  is  silence. 


240  THE  RAPTURE  OF  THE  vSPIRIT. 

Yet  the  bird  and  not  the  silence  is  the  coming 
reality  ;  a  little  while  and  nature  will  take  up 
the  song  and  be  song  altogether.  Even  so  is  it 
with  my  mountain  moments.  My  songs  may 
be  few,  but  they  are  few  because  the  year  is 
early  ;  they  and  not  the  silences  are  the  realities 
of  the  ripening  hour.  A  whole  lifetime  in  the 
desert  is  outweighed  by  one  sight  of  the  city 
of  God. 

Spirit  Divine,  in  whose  presence  is  fulness 
of  joy  and  at  whose  right  hand  there  are 
pleasures  for  evermore,  send  into  my  spring 
premonitions  of  the  summer  gold.  Send  me  in 
advance  "  days  of  heaven  upon  earth  " — days 
of  warmth  above  their  season,  days  of  sunshine 
brighter  than  their  time.  I  have  known  Thee 
in  Thine  hours  of  conflict  moving  on  the  face 
of  the  chaotic  waters.  I  have  known  Thee  in 
Thine  hours  of  calmness  descending  dove-like 
on  the  banks  of  Jordan.  Am  I  not  to  know 
Thee  in  yet  one  stage  more — Thy  stage  of 
overflowing  joy  ?  The  struggle  with  chaos  is 
noble  ;  the  peace  of  Jordan's  dove  is  beautiful ; 
but  hast  Thou  not  moments  in  which  Thou 
transcendest  even  these  ?  Hast  Thou  not 
moments  in  which  my  soul  is  "  carried  away," 
transported,  surprised  out  of  itself?  Hast 
Thou  not  moments  in  which  the  Baptist  out- 
runs the  Messianic  age  and  tells  me  beforehand 


THE  RAPTURE  OF  TII-E  SI'IRIT.  241 

of  the  glory  that  shall  be  revealed,  when  the 
desert  dwindles  into  a  span-  and  eternity  alone 
is  real  ?  Such  moments  I  ask  of  Thee.  By 
these  and  not  by  its  shadows  shall  I  measure 
life.  Mount  Ararat  was  dry  when  all  beside 
was  flooded,  but  Mount  Ararat  was  the  reality 
and  all  beside  was  vanishing  away.  When 
Thy  sunlight  touches  the  summits  of  the 
mountain  I  know  that  ere  long  there  shall  be 
light  in  the  city  too. 


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